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A BLUEPRINT FOR NEW MEXICO'S FUTURE

A Prescription for Progress

Sam Bregman's Plan to Repair And Reform New Mexico's Health Care

Health Care in new mexico: Where We Stand

Health care in New Mexico is in crisis and we can’t afford to wait.

We have an access crisis: too few physicians, nurses, and other providers to care for our people. We have an affordability crisis: costs keep climbing, while the Republicans’ “Big Brutal Bill” threatens to gut Medicaid and Marketplace health plans. Let’s be clear: 38% of New Mexicans - over 800,000 people - depend on Medicaid. Another 77,000 rely on Marketplace health plans.

 

These numbers aren’t just statistics - they represent our neighbors, small business owners, self-employed workers, and our community at large. Cuts to these programs mean rural hospitals will close, jobs will vanish, and access to care will shrink even further. To add to these challenges, New Mexico’s population is aging, and this will put even more demands on our already stressed healthcare system. We must plan and act now to be ready. Health care is one of our biggest employers. Approximately 42,000 New Mexicans work in the industry: 26,000 in hospitals; 11,000 in outpatient care; and 5,000 in medical, dental, and pharmacy health plans. If we want better health care, we must fight for current health care professionals and train the next generation. A healthy New Mexico starts with strong hospitals, thriving clinics, and the promise that no one is left without care.

 

Our next governor must begin to tackle these challenges on day one. That’s why I have consulted with experts to develop a real plan to address our health care crises NOW. New Mexicans can’t wait.

Four Pillars of Sam's Plan

  • Defend New Mexicans from Trump’s GOP, their “Big Brutal Bill, ” and any other cuts and assaults they launch on our citizens’ health care.

  • Expand the number of physicians and specialists by signing interstate health care compacts with 40 other states.

  • Grow, retain, and support our health care workforce to meet the needs of New Mexicans in every part of the state.

  • Build a stronger system that supports our health care professionals and patients while expanding health care coverage.

Defend New Mexicans from trump and gop

We are facing a crisis in health care affordability and access. It will take a strategic push to reform and repair a broken system: a true collaborative effort that brings every resource together to meet this challenge.

As governor, I will:

  • Increase investments in the Medicaid Trust Fund and accelerate distributions as needed to protect our citizens.

  • Relieve administrative burdens and requirements on providers and Medicaid managed care organizations.

  • Fund announcements so New Mexicans on Medicaid and Marketplace plans understand their rights and new requirements to ensure coverage.

  • Consider any responsible funding mechanism to get our citizens the health care they need, reduce red tape, empower health professionals and safeguard women’s health and family planning.

  • Ensure Medicaid premium rates are sufficient to ensure access to providers and to meet the challenges of the new federal requirements.

EXPAND THE NUMBER OF PHYSICIANS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS BY SIGNING COMPACTS WITH 40 OTHER STATES TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CARE

My comprehensive plan will prioritize recruiting and retaining highquality providers. We will launch a comprehensive, multi-step strategy to tackle this challenge head-on.

As governor, I will:

  • Engage key health care leaders to provide input on compacts as well as to bolster understanding of their impact on licensing and how new health care providers may participate in telehealth and/or establish practice in New Mexico.

  • Encourage large healthcare organizations to act as hosts for out-of-state providers by offering office space, nursing/medical assistant support, and staff resources.

  • Establish funding mechanisms to cover travel reimbursement under contractual arrangements, enabling physicians and other specialists to hold in-person office hours in New Mexico.

  • Ensure timely network participation by requiring MCOs and insurance companies to credential providers efficiently and within the statutory 30-day timeframe.

GROW, RETAIN AND SUPPORT OUR HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE

After safeguarding Medicaid and ACA patients from the Trump/GOP cuts and joining new interstate health care compacts, my comprehensive plan will prioritize recruiting and retaining highquality providers. We will launch a wide-ranging multi-step strategy to tackle this challenge head-on.

As governor, I will:

  • Grow Our Health Care Workforce Increase retention and expand the number of new medical school graduates. Only 24% of UNM HSC medical graduates practice in New Mexico. This must change.

  • Increase the salaries for our UNM HSC medical residents to meet regional averages.

  • Appoint University Regents who will be held accountable for increasing the number of residents who choose to practice and live in New Mexico post-training.

  • Recruit and retain the best faculty to ensure we train and keep more physicians and nurses in New Mexico.

  • Provide Financial Incentives & Tax Reform

  • Continue GRT reform and repeal taxes on medical, dental, behavioral, and social services. NM is one of two states that tax medical services. I will end that.

  • Expand rural health care tax credits to more providers and adjust for inflation.

  • Enact state income tax credits for malpractice premiums for physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, and other health care providers.

  • Offer loan repayments and other incentives to needed specialists such as child psychiatrists and other behavioral health providers.

BUILD A STRONGER SYSTEM FOR PATIENTS AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

As governor, I will:

  • Reduce administrative burden on all who provide health care or coverage for New Mexicans.

  • Simplify prior authorization requirements and establish waivers for high-performing providers.

  • Allow health care providers to focus on care, not paperwork.

  • Require insurers to process claims within 30 days and use a unified credentialing system across all health plans.

  • Improve provider pipeline & oversight to get more doctors and nurses licensed efficiently

  • Direct and work with licensing boards to streamline the processes.

  • Fund license fees for new and certain providers in much needed fields like primary care, nursing, and psychology.

  • Strengthen health care infrastructure.

  • Promote and support qualified public health clinics and services across New Mexico. Not only do these lynchpins provide critical services such as vaccinations and family planning, they also allow doctors to focus on more serious issues.

  • Enhance Health Information Exchange (HIE) for better data sharing.

  • Continue tribal partnerships.

  • Safeguard women’s health and family planning, and ensure care for our most vulnerable.

  • Create a provider-friendly environment by addressing challenges across hospitals, independent and group practices, and health plans.

  • Ensure hospital privileges are based on clinical qualifications and quality of care.

  • Ensure that the head of the Department of Health is a physician or Master of Public Health due to the critical nature of the role.

  • Remove barriers and expand Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth visits, especially for gynecological and mental health services.

  • Establish a dedicated liaison to coordinate programs, policy, and data collection focused on closing health outcome gaps for women.

MALPRACTICE REFORM

Tax Credits and Accountability Protect Patients and Help Health Care Providers

  • Every year, there are hundreds of thousands of patient visits, outpatient procedures, hospitalizations, prescriptions, as well as lab and imaging tests performed. Only a minuscule amount of these various encounters results in malpractice litigation. When it does occur, patients need advocates and attorneys to speak for them.

  • Malpractice reform is not the single silver bullet to correct a myriad of factors that contribute to the main issue New Mexicans face, which is limited access to primary care and other specialty providers when they need them.

  • Malpractice litigation often results in individual providers and systems enhancing their safety protocols, e.g. operating room procedures and prescription practices.

  • Providers need immediate relief from premium burden. State tax income credits will ease that challenge.

  • Every solution to enhance access to providers and increasing the number of providers practicing in New Mexico will be on the table.

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