Conflict of Interest Clouds North Country Healthcare Outsourcing Plan

A troubling conflict of interest threatens not just jobs, but the economic lifeline of entire North Country communities

In New Hampshire's North Country, where small towns depend on each stable job to survive, North County Healthcare faces a decision that should alarm every family from Colebrook to Lancaster. Matthew Hartzler, serving as Interim Vice President of Revenue Cycles, has determined that outsourcing 30-200 non-patient facing positions would best serve the organization. His recommended solution? Contracting with Hartzler Healthcare (H2)… a company that bears his name because he owns it.

This isn't just about employment statistics. In rural communities like ours, healthcare jobs represent the economic backbone that keeps families housed, children in local schools, and Main Street businesses open. When North County Healthcare eliminates 200 positions, that's 200 families facing uncertainty, families whose mortgage payments, grocery purchases, and school activities fuel our entire regional economy.

Research shows that each healthcare job supports nearly one additional position in other sectors across New Hampshire's economy. These are the restaurant workers who serve lunch to hospital employees, the childcare providers who watch their children, and the shopkeepers who depend on their patronage. When healthcare jobs disappear, the ripple effects devastate entire communities, forcing families to relocate and leaving behind empty homes and shuttered businesses.

The proposed arrangement represents textbook self-dealing, where an individual uses their official position to benefit their private interests. While healthcare outsourcing has become common nationwide, legitimate processes involve rigorous competitive bidding, not channeling resources into the decision-maker's pockets.

In North Country communities, where hospitals often rank among the top three employers, the stakes couldn't be higher. Rural hospitals across New Hampshire contribute an estimated $200,000 per employee annually to their local economies. For North County Healthcare's 200 affected positions, that represents $40 million in annual economic activity that could vanish from our region.

The questions surrounding this decision are numerous and troubling. What formal procurement process evaluated potential vendors? How many other companies were solicited? Was competitive bidding conducted as required by New Hampshire law? Most critically, did Mr. Hartzler recuse himself from discussions about outsourcing that would directly benefit his private company?

These aren't abstract policy debates. They're about whether families in Berlin keep their health insurance when mom loses her hospital job. Whether children in Whitefield can stay in local schools or must relocate when dad's position gets outsourced. Whether elderly couples in Lancaster can still access nearby emergency care when budget pressures force service reductions.

North Country Healthcare serves some of New Hampshire's most vulnerable populations in communities where alternatives are scarce. The organization's decisions affect thousands of residents who depend on these services in towns where the nearest alternative hospital may be an hour away.

Our North Country communities deserve better than arrangements that appear to prioritize personal profit over public benefit. Before any outsourcing contract advances, North County Healthcare must provide complete transparency about its selection process, demonstrate that genuine competitive bidding occurred, and establish independent oversight mechanisms.

The economic survival of our rural communities, and the families who call them home, depends on nothing less than absolute integrity in these critical decisions.

Lori Korzen is a State Representative who resides in Berlin, NH and sits on the Children and Family Law Committee in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and a small business owner.