Several bills that would help keep New Mexico’s rural health care providers in business are heading to the governor.
New Mexico’s county and tribal health councils came looking for funding in this year’s budgetary session, and they are slated to receive about half of what they asked for.
Rep. Anthony Allison (D-Fruitland) sponsored a bill this session asking for $6.6 million for New Mexico’s 42 health councils.
The current budget sets aside about $3 million for them. Valeria Alarcón with the New Mexico Alliance of Health Councils said that just about matches what the councils have been receiving through federal COVID-19 relief funds, which are about to dry up.
“That's essentially stabilizing the staffing for each of those Health councils. We're not talking about overhead. We're not talking about operations,” she said.
However, they won’t be able to expand their work providing access to medical care, dental care, food banks, and other services in rural and tribal areas that lack it.
The state has not funded the councils for about 13 years, and they are largely made up of volunteers. Alarcón said they have been a critical resource in underserved communities in rural New Mexico, including tribal lands.
This year’s legislative session also saw a couple of bills aimed at maintaining rural access to health care.
The Health Care Consolidation Oversight Act passed both the House and Senate. It would give the state a say in hospital acquisitions.
It would also require that the parties involved submit information about the acquisition to the state, including a description of the people who would likely be affected by it. Advocates say it would protect rural hospitals from predatory practices and closures.
The Legislature also passed the Health Care Delivery and Access Act, which allocates federal Medicaid funds to hospitals. It’s structured to favor rural hospitals, especially as several are at risk of closure because of financial instability. It passed nearly unanimously in the House and Senate.
Both bills are now headed to the Governor’s desk.
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