New Mexico
A healthcare foundation for changing lives in New Mexico
New Mexico’s rural healthcare system—foundational not just to the well-being of the many New Mexicans but also to the welfare of the state as a whole—is getting much needed attention this legislative session. If this attention is transformed into support by the end of the session on February 15, the results could be life-changing in many parts of the states.
Two-thirds of New Mexicans live in areas identified as having a health provider shortage by the federal government and many of those live in rural communities, where travel distances and reduced hospital services contribute to higher mortality rates, poorer maternal and child health, more cases of untreated chronic pain, and more substance abuse. Accessing routine care in the 26 of 33 New Mexico counties that are largely rural can involve multi-hour drives to the closest provider. Accessing emergency care can be close to impossible.
Healthcare policy experts report rural hospitals, often the only healthcare available to surrounding communities, are facing financial pressures, challenging patient needs, and other pressures and closing throughout the country. While accessing healthcare has become challenging everywhere, rural populations are losing services at higher rates than urban areas. In many ways, rural hospitals are suffering from economic long-Covid; they are still feeling the impacts of the financial losses of the pandemic and must deal with increases in medical malpractice insurance costs, workforce shortages, and rising costs from a depleted position.
The shutdown of a small, rural hospital reverberates throughout the community and throughout the state. Hospitals and healthcare facilities are economic drivers, supporting one in 12 jobs in their communities on average. Rural patients who don’t have care close to home put greater pressure on emergency and healthcare transportation services and add to the patient load of rural healthcare facilities that are already at capacity.
Most importantly, New Mexico cannot expect to succeed—cannot expect to see its children thrive academically and emotionally or its adults prosper economically or socially—if New Mexicans are not healthy.
Over the last few years, the Legislature has taken significant steps to improve healthcare access in rural New Mexico, investing $364 million last year alone in incentivizing new and expanding rural health providers, supporting rural and tribal hospitals, and raising Medicaid payments to healthcare providers.
This year, I am sponsoring a plan that would create a $70 million health facility viability fund to provide grants to healthcare providers that reestablish or expand services in medically underserved areas with operating costs and other expenses. Other legislation under consideration includes proposals to provide $51 million in emergency funding to small rural and frontier hospitals, $60 million for student loan payments for healthcare professionals, and $50 million for quarterly subsidies for small, acute care hospitals that face financial struggles because of patients’ unpaid bills, unaffordable medical malpractice and property insurance, and declining Medicare payments. In addition, legislators are discussing a bill that would leverage a pool of hospital payments with federal funds to raise Medicaid payments to the same level as those paid by commercial insurers.
Almost 200 rural hospitals have shut down nationwide in the last 18 years, and in New Mexico, one hospital has shut down and 15 have cut back services. Rural New Mexicans are losing access to essential services and their communities are losing jobs. The failure of rural hospitals exacerbates persistent health and economic inequities.
We have an opportunity this legislative session to build on the progress we’ve made to turn this failure around. Success in tearing down the barriers to rural healthcare will mean greater success for all New Mexicans.
Sen. Pete Campos, a Democrat from Las Vegas who holds a doctorate in educational leadership and a master’s in guidance and counseling, has been a member of the Senate since 1991 and a member of the Senate Finance Committee since 1997. Campos is also a member of the Legislative Finance, Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy, and Water and Natural Resources committees. He has served as the senator from District 8 in northern New Mexico since 1991 and has served as president of Luna Community College, superintendent of the Las Vegas City Schools, and mayor of Santa Rosa.
LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.
In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.
“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.
Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.
Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)
Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.
One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”
New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.
Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.
“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.
Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”
Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”
KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.
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- Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
- Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
- How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.
New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.
The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.
The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.
According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.
“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.
The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.
Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan
Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.
Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.
“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”
The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.
In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.
The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.
The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
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