KUNM Callin Show 2/16 8a: New Mexico expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and the number of people covered by the program will grow to more than 900,000 by the end of June. That's about 44 percent of the state's population.
Under the expansion, 244,000 people were added and the federal government picks up 95 percent of those premium costs right now. But New Mexico must still pony up matching funds for the rest of the program and lawmakers are grappling with a budget pounded by plummeting oil and gas revenues. Options could include cutting back on benefits, adding co-pays and lowering provider reimbursement rates. Looming on the horizon are proposals at the federal level to turn Medicaid into a block grant program.
What will all this mean for vulnerable New Mexicans? Have you gotten health coverage under the Medicaid expansion? What would changes to the program mean for you and your family? We want to hear from you. Email callinshow@kunm.org or call toll free 1-877-899-5866 during the show.
Guests:
Sireesha Manne, attorney for New Mexico Center for Law and Poverty
Kelly O'Donnell, O'Donnell Economics & Strategy and RWJF Center for for Health Policy
Senator Steven Neville, R-Aztec, member of Legislative Finance Committee
Representative Debbie Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, Chair of Health and Human Services Committee
Steven Kopelman, Executive Director of New Mexico Association of Counties
Dr. Rick Madden, Belen physician.
Further Reading:
- State Grapples With Rising Medicaid Costs Amid ACA Uncertainty - Santa Fe New Mexican
- Gessing: Medicaid Reform Can Save New Mexico - Los Alamos Monitor
- Limited Revenue Options Bind Lawmakers - Santa Fe New Mexican
- Paul Ryan’s Claim That More Doctors Just Won’t Take Medicaid - Washington Post
- Report Finds New Mexico Would Lose 31,000 Jobs If ACA Repealed - Santa Fe New Mexican
- New Mexico’s Epic Medicaid Shortfall - KUNM
- United, UNMH Part Ways On Medicaid Patients - Albuquerque Journal
- Panel Recommends State Reject Medicaid Copays, Premiums - Santa Fe New Mexican
- New Mexico Seeks Co-Pays From Medicaid Patients - Albuquerque Journal
- Some Farmers Want Big Changes In Health Coverage, Some None At All - AgriPulse
- Medicaid Co-Pays Are A Poor Tax - KRWG
- Vulnerable New Mexicans Wait To See What Trump Does To Obamacare - Santa Fe New Mexican
- As Lawmakers Mull $69M Funding Hike For Medicaid Program Still Lacks Key Performance Data - Santa Fe New Mexican
- Legislative Finance Committee Factsheet on Medicaid
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