State lawmakers recently made their disappointment clear with the Department of Health during a presentation of an evaluation of the state’s medication-assisted treatment program for substance use disorder. It came just weeks after an announcement that DOH would be expanding the program.
DOH has been offering access to medications for opioid and alcohol use disorder at its public health offices since Spring of 2024, but has treated less than 350 people in that time despite the report finding more than 9,000 New Mexicans need MAT.
The Legislative Finance Committee presented its evaluation at the interim Health and Human Services Committee’s August 14 meeting.
Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-McKinley) didn’t mince words in her response.
“I'm shocked. I'm blown away, and trying to keep my blood pressure down when I think about what I just heard from this LFC evaluation,” she said. “And when I hear that we only had three MAT patients for alcohol assistance? That's ridiculous. I can find you three in this building.”
Secretary Gina DeBlassie said DOH is well aware of – and currently working toward fixing – the lack of public awareness regarding the program.
“I don't believe that communities really understand what services are provided in public health offices,” DeBlassie said. “So one of the things that we're working on within the agency is really trying to get the word out. ‘Here's your public health office. Here are the services that are provided,’ because there's a lot of great work that's being done there.”
The LFC evaluation recommended centralizing outreach efforts, hiring a state coordinator who could work with community partners to get the word out, and focusing on direct marketing to New Mexicans with a substance use disorder.
DeBlassie said DOH agrees with, and is already working on implementing, most of the recommendations, but she also pointed out MAT is available in many other places and public health offices are the last line of defense.
“I think it's important to note that the Department of Health is really the safety net provider within its communities,” she said.
House Minority whip Rep. Alan Martinez (R-Sandoval) pushed back against that line of thinking.
“It sounds like you're saying DOH is not responsible for treating these people,” Martinez said. “Who is ultimately responsible for this?”
Deblassie responded saying DOH isn’t shirking responsibility by being a safety net.
“If (anyone who needs services) can't get it within the community, we should be providing that within our public health office,” she said. “We are highly responsible.”
Lawmakers also expressed disappointment about the “Golden Opportunity” portion of the program, where Albuquerque first responders connect someone who has just experienced an overdose to a coalition of local organizations available to enroll that person in MAT.
Committee Chair, Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo) said the Golden Opportunity coalition itself was a great idea, as many people who experience an overdose are more open to recovery immediately after the incident. However, she expressed disappointment that the number of participating providers was so small, with only eight partners listed, and four of them being the first responders themselves.
“Just in terms of the partners for that program, the list is disappointing,” she said. “Health Care for the Homeless just jumps out … I know one phone call and they would be interested. So I'm wondering why that list isn't longer.”
The LFC evaluation noted only five people have been successfully placed on MAT and enrolled in recovery since Golden Opportunity’s rollout, but did praise the program and said it has potential to be scaled up. Moreover, LFC noted Golden Opportunity had only begun in the fall of 2024.
DeBlassie also noted even though the MAT program itself officially launched last spring, it really didn’t get fully underway until the fall, and that with more time overall results could be different.
The LFC recommended coming back and reviewing the program again in 2027 to give DOH a few years to get tangible results.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
