Medicaid

Latino youth are feeling psychological impacts of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, researchers say. A committee of legislators in New Mexico on Wednesday considered how this problem impacts the state and weighed increasing access to Medicaid.

The 10-year census count will begin next year. But there’s plenty about it that might make some folks nervous in New Mexico. Just last week, the Census Bureau asked the state for access to citizenship data through driver’s license info. The state said no, it wouldn’t turn over the records. A local policy group says these tactics should not stop folks here from participating in the census.

The United States Census Bureau has found that the national number of people who are uninsured increased significantly last year. This marks the first such change since the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2010.

The Trump administration has issued a new rule that could deny visas and green cards to some immigrants if they use government assistance programs like Medicaid or food assistance, citing the need for self-sufficiency and the cost.

People who apply for food and medical assistance programs in New Mexico got used to long waits, mysterious denials, and catch-22s of bureaucracy. But after years of litigation, wait times are way down and a notorious backlog of cases is pretty much cleared. The new Human Services Department secretary has his eye on updating tech to make the whole system easier and more foolproof.

The central question in a two-decade federal court case is whether New Mexico’s Human Services Department is distributing SNAP and Medicaid fast enough and to the right people. A new boss was appointed to HSD in January. KUNM heard from Secretary David Scrase about the changes he’s making.

For years, there’s been a fight in court about whether the state of New Mexico is following federal law when it comes to distributing food and medical assistance to almost half a million people here. Advocates told a federal judge this week that the state Human Services Department is still illegally denying SNAP and Medicaid to some eligible families. KUNM spoke with Maria Griego Thursday, May 16, right after the court hearing in Las Cruces. Griego is an attorney with The Center on Law and Poverty, and she explained what the state is doing wrong.

The Affordable Care Act says health insurers can’t deny coverage for someone or charge them more if they have a pre-existing condition.

State senators approved a local measure 21-14 Thursday night that would protect folks in case that law is weakened or repealed. It now heads to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk.

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill this week to have Medicaid cover services to help people quit smoking.

Under the proposal, Medicaid would pay for counseling, medications and other resources that help get folks off cigarettes, e-cigs and chewing tobacco.

State lawmakers are considering a bill that would let residents who aren’t eligible for Medicaid coverage to buy into the program.

Nearly one million low-income New Mexicans were covered in 2017 when the state chipped in $1 billion of $5 billion for things like health care services.

New Mexico’s next governor will inherit the task of turning around a struggling public education system. This year a judge ruled the state has violated the constitutional rights of at-risk students, including those with disabilities, and must make changes to give everyone an adequate education.

The 2020 census may seem far off still, but some people in New Mexico are already starting to lay the groundwork for the population count that happens once every ten years, and organizers say there’s a lot at stake.

Dealing with Alzheimer’s disease can take a toll on people emotionally and financially. A local organization is giving a free class in Albuquerque on Thursday about how to handle your finances when dealing with Alzheimer’s.

The Bernalillo County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday in support of a Medicaid buy-in option. Supporters of the plan hope that this will pressure state lawmakers to make it happen.

New Mexico officials are hitting the road to talk about changes to Medicaid that will take effect in January. Starting this week, the New Mexico Human Services Department is holding a series of public events across the state to educate residents about upcoming changes to Centennial Care, the state's Medicaid program.