New Mexicans are in need of affordable health care now more than ever, but the Legislative Finance Committee is proposing to cut the Health Care Authority’s budget for Fiscal Year 2027 by a significant amount.
In the budget released by the LFC this week, HCA would see a 5.4% decrease in support from the general fund, or $819.8 million less than it received last year.
Rep. Nathan Small, (D-Las Cruces) who chairs the LFC, said the cuts are because fewer New Mexicans are enrolling in Medicaid.
“I would look at it as sort of shifting of resources on health care. If there are fewer folks who are utilizing Medicaid services, that doesn't mean that there should be sort of fewer overall dollars in the health care system. Maybe that means an increased focus for the health care exchange,” Small said.
Over 30,000 New Mexicans have disenrolled in Medicaid in the last year. Whether it's due to income changes or long wait times, people are finding other ways to secure health care.
Rep. Small said the biggest goal this session is to make life more affordable, and a large piece of that is health care.
New Mexico has seen record Affordable Care Act enrollment following the state’s move to offset subsidy losses at the federal level, but premiums are still expected to rise by an average of 35.7% next year.
“That would literally mean a choice, do I have health care or do I get food this month for my family? It shows that this is equally important to any other issue of affordability,” Small said.
Legislators have secured funding for subsidies for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30th. And lawmakers will consider keeping this funding in this year’s session, as long as the federal government doesn’t pick it back up.
The House of Representatives voted Thursday to renew subsidies, but it must still pass the Senate and be signed by the president.
The session starts January 20.
