State lawmakers have crafted a number of bills in the name of addressing New Mexico’s medical provider shortage but not everyone agrees on which strategies are best.
Some measures aiming to improve the climate for medical practitioners here have moved relatively quickly through the legislative meat grinder, and some have not.
Two bills just this week survived full session votes to move to the other chamber.
One of them is the bipartisan SB-88, which seeks to create a fund that will increase medicaid reimbursement for providers.
That one passed the Senate unanimously and awaits its first House committee hearing.
Another bill, coming from the House, also with a bipartisan roster of sponsors, had a tougher go, passing that chamber this week by 39 to 21 count.
HB-15 seeks to entice more providers to New Mexico by sharing information about recruitment incentives and job openings, and assisting in licensing.
In the House floor debate, lead sponsor Rep. Marianna Anaya said it was all about bringing homegrown healthcare workers back to New Mexico.
Other representatives said investing in recruitment would have less of an impact than addressing malpractice policy.
Executive director of the nonpartisan Think New Mexico, Fred Nathan, says the house bill is all about misdirection.
“ We believe that House Bill 15 is just designed to deflect attention away from what really needs to be done to solve the doctor shortage," Nathan said.
"First, we have medical malpractice premiums that are almost double in New Mexico what they are in our neighboring states.
"Secondly, doctors tell us they lose money on nearly every procedure performed on Medicaid patients because our Medicaid reimbursements are so low.”
Another problem, Nathan said, is that New Mexico is one of only two states in the nation that places a tax on medical services.
With HB-15 on its way to the Senate Rules Committee, having passed two committees and the House floor, Senate Bill 176, which aims to lower attorney’s fees in medical malpractice, still hasn’t been heard by any committee.
With just over two weeks left in the session, backers of that latter bill have a lot of obstacles to clear in a short period of time.
