New Mexico
New Mexico governor signed bills aimed at improving healthcare affordability
(The Center Square) – New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed several bills into law last week that she hopes will improve healthcare affordability.
“Delivering quality healthcare to New Mexico’s population requires a tailored approach that takes into account rural communities, New Mexicans benefiting from Medicaid, and the tens of thousands of public employees in our state,” Lujan Grisham said in a press release from her office. “These are bills that are going to positively impact a vast swath of New Mexicans.”
Lujan Grisham signed the healthcare bills during a ceremony at Sierra Vista Hospital in Truth or Consequences.
“The signing of this legislation brings immediate assistance to our community by helping us meet the needs of our residents and the thousands of New Mexicans who frequent Elephant Butte State Park and Lake annually,” Frank Cochran, CEO of Sierra Vista Hospital said. “Furthermore, the funds allocated through this legislation will stabilize our current operations and allow us to expand our much-needed behavioral health capacity, surgical services, and establish additional services.”
One bill she signed was House Bill 7. The bill deals with the Healthcare Affordability Fund — something that has saved New Mexicans about $45 million on health insurance premiums since 2021, the release said.
“The bill maintains a 55 percent premium surtax distribution to the fund ensuring ongoing future support for the program,” the release said..
“Since it was created in 2021, the Healthcare Affordability Fund has made our state healthier by helping tens of thousands of New Mexicans attain affordable health insurance,” said House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski, a lead sponsor on the bill. “House Bill 7 will sustain the Healthcare Affordability Fund so that workers continue to get the coverage they need, small businesses can offer the benefits their employees deserve, and we can keep cutting New Mexico’s uninsured rate, which will reduce costs for everyone.”
Another bill Lujan Grisham signed into law was Senate Bill 14. It created a Health Care Authority for the state.
“The Health Care Authority will enhance coordination in the purchasing of health care for the state’s 180,000 public employees with a focus on improving plan design and affordability, the release said.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Metropolitan Court of Bernalillo County had another packed docket Saturday morning.
“We are the busiest courthouse in the state. We see more than every other courthouse does, from the traffic tickets to the misdemeanor cases and the initial felony cases that are filed here,” said Metropolitan Court Chief Judge Joshua Sanchez.
Sanchez says the court oversees about 100 cases a day and Saturday New Mexico’s top judge, Chief Justice David Thomson of the New Mexico Supreme Court, got a firsthand look at the court’s caseload.
Sanchez says he welcomes the visit.
“We go to these statewide meetings, and they hear about how things happen. But until you actually kind of sit there with another judge and see what happens, it’s kind of eye-opening to see the kind of controlled chaos that we have on a Saturday morning,” he said about the visit.
He adds their biggest challenge at Metro Court is the case load.
Thomson says he plans to visit courts statewide to see these challenges for himself.
“I think it’s a good idea just to come down and see it. And what you see, if you watch these, is you see all the interactions between what we face, just not as a court system, as a society, right?” said Sanchez.
Just from one morning sitting in on court proceedings, he said it’s clear mental health plays a huge part in a lot of the cases metro court hears.
“If there are questions of competency, we can catch those questions here, rather when they get transferred to felony court, that’s one, can they be assessed early on,” Thomson said.
He also noticed a lot of repeat offenders.
“I think it’s very helpful to see it firsthand. On a few of these individuals. I’ve actually asked to look at some of the criminal history, so I have an understanding of the particulars,” said Thomson.
Sanchez said he hopes for more visits like this in the future.
“It’s just nice to give some real perspective and validates, I think, a lot of the things that we do communicate to AOC and the Supreme Court and things that we’re seeing,” said Thomson.
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