New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

Leave No Child Inside: APS's Valley Cluster Funded to Move Kids Outdoors Thanks to Outdoor Classroom Program

Last week, the State Parks Division held an event down at the Rio Grande Nature Center (a state park) to herald the second year of the statewide Outdoor Classroom Program.  And the proof of the program's appeal was in the pudding - or actually, in the Bosque - as scores of elementary and high school students descended on the Nature Center from as far away as Ramah Navajo and as close as Georgia O'Keefe Elementary, in the Heights.
   
The idea behind the program is to get children outside, in nature, where they can learn science, geography first hand, and fall in love with nature.  In today's world lots of kids stay inside, playing video games, looking up their friends on Myspace-with occasional trips to the mall.  That's a far cry from my own childhood, where there was ample time to play outdoors, at the woods at the end of the street.  Now, in much of the country, there are no woods at the end of the street. But, thank goodness, there's the Rio Grande Bosque, and, further afield, the mountains, the desert and everything that makes New Mexico, well, New Mexico.

I thought the Outdoor Classroom program was a perfect fit for kids here in the North Valley where ten years ago I attended an alarming focus group for middle schoolers at Garfield Middle School. And it wasn't just the pizza and soda, with which the facilitators got the kids to participate, that was alarming. Many of these kids never went to the bosque and seldom played out side.  Meanwhile, the rate of obesity and diabetes continues to go up among this group.
 
That's why I was delighted in March when my appropriation for at least one outdoor learning experience for every 5th grader in the APS's Valley Cluster went through, and the overall program received $500,000 for school districts around the state. 
Yippee! Leave No Child Inside!

One Constituent's Story - What the Stigma of Mental Illness Looks Like…

Here's a story from Desiree Woodland, whose young son committed suicide two years ago this week. She's turning this tragedy around by educating the public about mental illness and raising funds for a therapeutic farm called Casas de Vida Nueva.  She's put together a walk team for the upcoming NAMI NM Walk May 3rd, (check in at 7 :00 a.m. in the parking lot of the Hoffmantown Baptist Church at 888 Harper NE) and is looking for contributions and walkers.  E-mail her at scrappy1231@earthlink.net or give her a call at 344-4343.   Here's what she has to say…

What the Stigma of Mental Illness Looks Like
Unwittingly and unknowingly I perpetuated the stigma - I didn't know what mental illness was, what it looked like, much less thought about the people with it. I didn't know that mental illness is a real biological illness and it is not a choice. I didn't know that asking someone with severe depression to just get over it, get on with life; deal with it, was like asking someone with cancer to heal themselves.  It was like leaving someone bleeding on the side of the street without calling an ambulance.  I didn't know that clinical depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are some of the mental illnesses for which the symptoms look like disoriented thinking, erratic behavior, or emotional problems- but in reality are biological illnesses that require medical treatment.

I have learned that there is a continuum along which mental illness occurs. Levels of illness range from mild to severe. Depression is one of the most common. But it is more than sadness, which we all experience from time to time.  It is a deeper, lingering inability of the brain to release the chemicals that allow human beings to process the stresses of life.  At any place along this continuum, treatment could help ameliorate the symptoms. But, because of the stigma that exists most people don't want to admit that they are ill. Truthfully, who would want to, when it is seen as a weakness of character or constitution? Many people suffer in silence because they too believe the lie.

After my son's diagnosis 2 years ago of possible schizophrenia/delusional disorder I still didn't know.  I thought that Ryan could just take a pill and somehow miraculously return to us as the full human being he had been before.  I believed this was the cure - no more of this delusional thinking and arrested development. But for some people even the strongest antipsychotic cannot change the brain and make it work better.  Medications have improved and do make a significant difference for most people.  But, even when medications work, complications can occur if the person stops taking them, sending them into psychosis once again. For Ryan, his healing was not to be on this earth.  My precious son, 24 years old, never gave his family or himself the time to learn about mental illness, with the chance of learning acceptance because he took his own life only nine months after being diagnosed.

A new paradigm is needed through which to view mental illness.  As a society we need education because we believe the lie - we don't understand the biological nature of this illness. The majority of people who have a family member with mental illness or are afflicted themselves, suffer and struggle in silence, not feeling the support of society at large.  In the media we often hear only the stories of people with mental illness who commit violence. The reality is that the percentage of persons with a mental illness who commit violence is no greater than those without it. We judge and make assumptions about people who are depressed as lazy or making excuses.  We must educate ourselves- organizations like NAMI are making a difference. We must stop stigma whenever we hear people referring to persons with mental illness as crazy, schizophrenic, or manic depressive.  These are people with who have an illness - they are NOT the illness.  We must speak up when jokes are made, or we ourselves refer to our own lapse of memory as losing our mind or craziness. These metaphors continue to perpetuate the stigma. We must remember the seriousness of someone who must struggle against his or her broken brain and rely on medication to make a difference in his or her lives. Quoting Marja Bergen, the author of a book on mental illness recovery called Riding the Rollercoaster, We have come to believe, along with society, that our disorder reflects our personality.  We should remember that such ideas result from the stigma society has wrongfully attached to mental illness. There is no relationship between our illness and our self-worth.

This illness is something lived with day in and day out - perhaps year in and year out unless the illness goes into remission, which can and does happen as with other biological illnesses. Let us not forget the determination and perseverance it takes to learn to live with mental illness and the acceptance that must take place in the individual and their family before treatment can really begin.  I am working with a therapeutic farm called Casas de Vida Nueva whose mission is to help those learning to cope with, understand, and live with a mental illness. The farm will offer fresh air, open space and natural beauty. This therapeutic environment will enable people to focus on recovery through psychiatric services, forming community, and building practical skills through meaningful work on the farm.  For more information see the website: www.cvnfarm.org

Mental illness affects all people, from all walks of life. It afflicts without regard to socioeconomic status, race or gender. So, it is up to each of us to lead the way in reducing the stigma that is attached to the diagnosis of a mental illness.  It is up to us to educate ourselves, our families and friends about exactly what mental illness is - that it is treatable and that it is an illness like any other. Ryan would have benefited so much from the opportunity to live on the farm, learning to live with mental illness, and maybe also learning how to rediscover his potential.

Desiree Woodland
Mother of Ryan who died May 1, 2006

Editor's Note: New Mexico is 50th of 50 states in terms of per capita spending on mental health.

Some Health Reform Beats No Health Reform…

Some Health Reform Beats No Health Reform… 

So read the Albuquerque Journal editorial on March 10^th.  The endorsement was a great birthday present for me (I’m a Pisces, can you tell?) that described the signing of a few of the only health care reform bills to emerge from the session--- SB 226 and SB 129.   The bills, which I sponsored, were signed after a lot of you phoned, wrote and faxed the governor. As you may remember, one (SB 226) was an insurance reform bill that makes it harder for insurance companies to turn down people with preconditions on technicalities, and harder to refuse to pay when their expenses go over a certain limit.   The other (SB 129), which the Governor was initially was going to veto, sets in motion a process to come up with a strategic, statewide plan to confront the major cost drivers in the health care system—chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Thank you; thank you again for all your help.  It’s affirmation that your voice does count. 

Now What?

With the failure of the administration’s Health Solutions bill to pass the legislature, the Governor has said that he will call a special session to deal with health care reform sometime during the summer.  That’s to give the administration and the Senate (where most of the opposition was located) a chance to work things out in advance.  To do so, the Senate President Pro Tem, Sen. Tim Jennings, has appointed a working group composed of the leadership and “a few executive members” to meet with the Governor’s representatives.  This is a great idea to focus on areas of possible agreement and construct a roadmap to a compromise.  At this point, there are no House members involved, although that may change if the working group morphs into a full-fledged health committee that will delve into the matter in more detail and hold meetings in public.  Whether the more extended deliberations will simply retrace the old territory covered by three or four task forces over the years, delay a decision, or bear fruit by the summer is anybody’s guess. Compromise has certainly been made more difficult by the Governor decision to veto only Senate bills, and specifically the bills of many of the leaders on the working group (Jennings, Rawson, Ingle, Lopez, Smith) who have opposed health care reform.   Stay tuned.

Spring is in the Air…Getting Ready to Plant? Come to the Seed Exchange

If you’re a home gardener or just want to celebrate the spring cycle, here’s a great event that’s happening in Senate District 13 on Sunday March 30 from 1-3 p.m.  It’s a seed exchange and party for local growers—and eaters.  It’s sponsored by the Rio Grande Community Farm, the non-profit that demonstrates sustainable, local agriculture on the open space at Montano and Rio Grande that many of us in the old Anderson Field Alliance fought to preserve back in 1996.  Some of you may know it as the home of the Corn Maze, which delights children and the young at heart every autumn; others may walk the ditches that criss-cross the fields, which are also visited by hundreds of sand hill cranes. Still others may be involved in the community garden they run every year.

     The free Seed Exchange will start at 1:00 p.m. Sunday March 30 with community booths, master gardeners, and arts and crafts.  The event may be accessed by going west on Montano Rd. toward the river and turning right at the sign on the field, right before the Presbyterian Church.  It will be followed by a fundraising reception ($25 suggested contribution) at the barn.  For more information or to sign up for a free booth… contact Abby at 999-1258.

A Break in the Action before the Final Push… Early Warnings on Health Care, Special Session

I'm back home for a day off today before the big endgame in the legislature.  Here's what's happening as of Feb. 3.  The House has sent the budget over to the Senate, with several big omissions.  In spite of all the talk about moving to universal health care, the proposed budget doesn't even hold the line on Medicaid funding.  The federal-state program is $10 million short just to retain its present enrollment.  This could mean that, rather than adding 9,000 new children to the rolls, as the administration has proposed in "Health Solutions", we end up dropping 10,000.  Wow.  That's significant. Remember, the federal government pays 75% of the cost of covering these kids in New Mexico.  We'd give that up, though, to save $10 million.
 
If there was one thing that everyone on all the health task forces that I've served on in my 12 years here seemed to agree upon was that we should be maximizing the federal match. I've asked the Senate Finance Committee to restore the funding, but I'm not optimistic.  There's a basic level of mistrust between the finance guys in the legislature and the human services department on the Medicaid projections.  Not a good sign.

The other thing that everyone seems to agree on is that we need to focus on retaining and recruiting doctors, nurses and other health care professionals in New Mexico-especially, if more people are to have coverage.  But the House did not fund the request for about $1.5 million for that purpose, as the Governor had proposed. I've got a bill for $1.8 million for this purpose that I'll continue pushing for in the Senate Finance Committee… but it's frustrating, particularly when I've been listening for six moths now to opponents of health care reform who basically say we can't expand coverage at all because we don't have the providers.  Oh well, as the say, "Gusty Winds May Exist."

Meanwhile, the big enchilada, the "Health Solutions" bill has been amended to exclude any mandates for coverage either from employers or individuals, and has been referred to another committee.  It's now unclear whether it will survive the House - widely seen by proponents as the better bet.

This kind of gridlock may be typical for this stage of any session, and I remain optimistic on that count, but I wouldn't be too surprised to start hearing calls for a special session from the fourth floor this week.
 
On a more optimistic note, I was pleased to pass my SB 129 through the Senate, which calls for a mass mobilization against chronic diseases in New Mexico, starting with a task force to come up with a strategic plan to manage these diseases.  This will help cut our health care costs in the long run, through a common sense approach.  You can call the house committees to which it is referred in support, if you have a minute.  You can track this, and other bills, through the legislative web site at www.nmlegis.gov.

Obama mania hit Santa Fe on Friday, and I was part of history, getting stuck in the largest traffic jam to ever hit the City Different, and joining the huge crowd to hear Obama speak at the Santa Fe Community College. The logistics weren't so great, but Obama's performance was masterful.  The atmosphere was like a rock concert, but I would not describe him as a rock star - maybe a graceful prizefighter, or fine writer, whose controlled prose and movements hung together artfully. Biggest applause lines: support for art, music and, yes, poetry (this was Santa Fe, after all); a requirement for community service for student loans, and thankful that - whatever happens on Super Tuesday -- George W. Bush's name will not be on the November ballot.   I'm proud to be an Obama supporter. 

Health Care Reform Debate Goes to House Committee this Week; Senators Wait in the Wings

There are now four major health care reform bills in the hopper in the House and Senate-with more to come. The Gov's bill, Health Solutions, is, of course, the big banana.  It's a hybrid public-private plan with 98 pages of insurance reforms, a health care authority and mechanisms for coverage (i.e. mandates for individuals and employers).  The Health Security bill is a different approach resembling Medicare on a state level, and it has many supporters.  For the second year in a row, Dr. JR Damron, a Santa Fe radiologist and former Republican gubernatorial candidate, has proposed the Health Exchange,  essentially a state brokerage to simplify the selection of private insurance policies.  Rep. Danice Picraux and I have suggested another version of a Health Care Authority to present a plan for universal to the legislature for debate during next year's long session. There's also a bill to plan for electronic claims submission by '09 and a plan for electronic medical records by '10.

There's more to come, including insurance reforms to prevent insurance companies from denying preexisting conditions and raising the price when subscribers get sick.  I've introduced some funding to retain and recruit health care professionals and a task force to plan for chronic disease management, and thus control rising medical costs. Those are important pieces of the puzzle regardless of what happens elsewhere.

It's a health policy wonk's dream, and I plead guilty to that charge… but for most legislators it's complex, arcane, scary stuff, and almost any excuse will do to put it off, tune out or beg off. That leaves fertile fields for those who'd like to preserve the status quo-and they are beginning to plow old grounds with claims that reform will "drive insurance companies from the state," "enslave doctors," ( this from the Rio Grande Foundation) and "create huge waiting lines" for urgent operations.   Refuting these bogus claims takes valuable time "off message," and diverts attention from the major fact of 430,000 people without insurance in NM, premiums rising at four times the price index, and studies repeating the conclusion that doing nothing is more costly than taking action.

It will take real citizen involvement, focus and leadership to move this issue forward.  But today's a good day-and I have faith.

The House Health and Government Affairs Committee will be tackling the bills this week in Room 309, and it should be a good show. Look out for amendments and substitutions.  Check out the legislative web site at www. legis.state.nm.us for more details.   Meanwhile the Senators have been caucusing and reviewing the proposals.  Stay tuned when they swing into action the following week. 

New Mexico Health Care Update

The Administration has finally rolled out a discussion draft of its universal health coverage bill, “Health Solutions, ”and it weighs in at 92 pages.  It’s chock full of details on insurance reforms and requirements, as well as the composition and function of the proposed health coverage authority.  The draft is available at the Governor’s web site under “new initiatives,“ and you can also link to it HERE.  The administration is welcoming comments, too before Jan. 3. E-mail  rubyann.esquibel@state.nm.us.

It’s still a mystery to me how the Gov. intends to get this one through the legislature, given that he’ll be on the campaign trail and not in Santa Fe to address the skepticism of the minority and key Senators that we can afford this in a slim budget year.   Which is a shame.  This is as close as we’ve come to real health care reform in over ten years.  I spoke about this and the whole process (I’ve been in deep) in a speech I gave to the Public Health Association on Dec. 7, called  “So Close but Yet So Far.” It gives a pretty good background (maybe more than you want to know) and you can link to it HERE.  Meanwhile, here are a few tidbits:

“First the good news: we are so much closer today—in both New Mexico and the nation to health care reform than we have ever been since the early ‘90s. Health care is now at the top of the domestic agenda and every presidential candidate, whether Democratic or Republican, has a plan to achieve universal—or almost universal coverage.  According to Celinda Lake, and other pollsters, 72% of the American public in principle favors providing access to quality affordable health care even if it means raising taxes.

Skyrocketing insurance premiums are the major concern.  And the concern will intensify in the next ten years, as premium hikes vastly outstrip wage hikes.  The average family premium now is about $12,000 per year, and is will DOUBLE in the next ten years…

The centerpiece of the task force’s activities was a study by Mathematica (a health consulting firm) which had this conclusion:   ‘Looking at it five years from now, it will cost only incrementally more to implement a universal health care system for New Mexico than it will cost to do nothing and let the number of uninsured New Mexicans increase every year.”

On Tuesday I presented the Health and Human Services Committee recommendations to the budget makers on the LFC.  Earlier in the day they had heard from Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde that Medicaid would need an additional $141 million in general fund rather than the 87 million she had requested in Oct.   The thought of grappling with—and especially funding—a complete system redesign—all in a short, 30 day session seemed to throw the chairman, and many of the members over the edge.  To say that the reception was frosty—would be an understatement.     Nevertheless, we will see plenty of attempts this session to begin the march toward universal coverage.  There will be several bills to establish a health care authority—from the Medical Society, the Health Care For All Campaign, the Administration and others.  The Health Security Plan’s advocates intend to introduce their bill as does, Dr. J.R. Damron, who has a plan for a Health Insurance Exchange. There also will be bills on insurance reform, electronic records, billing and IT, as well as transparency and cost controls. It will be quite interesting, by the way, to see which of these bills will be declared germane, and thus up for debate in a short session where the agenda is usually limited to budget and revenue items. On Tuesday I presented the Health and Human Services Committee recommendations to the budget makers on the LFC.  Earlier in the day they had heard 

All in all, the upcoming session will be a health policy wonk’s dream.   But the bad news is—with the fiscal forecast becoming gloomier by the day, the resolute opposition of the minority party to almost any change, and relations between the Legislature and the Governor’s office strained by the demands national political campaign this dream may turn into a nightmare of professional protectionism, bureaucratic infighting and paralysis brought on by special interests protecting their own purse.

We are So Close and yet So Far…and remember there are 400,000 New Mexicans caught in the crossfire. People without insurance do not have lobbyists in Santa Fe, so we need your activism to help bring us closer to affordable, quality health care for all New Mexicans.

In conclusion, I recently heard Ron Pollack, Director of Families USA, speak to Con Alma, about health care reform, and he said something that I feel was right on point for where we are today in New Mexico.  He said this:

“Too often health care reformers go home when their exact plan, their top choice is not adopted by the task force, the committee or the legislature.  But that leaves the status quo in place as the second choice.  We need to make a virtue out of our second choices—choices that can transcend partisanship and ideology and move us forward.”

We can’t leave the status quo in New Mexico—not when we have come this far—that’s why I’m asking for your help in finding that second choice—whether it is a health care authority that can move us forward, meaningful insurance reforms, prevention or cost avoidance measures. As difficult as I think this will be, this is our opportunity, and I hope you will join me in seizing it in Santa Fe come January.”

Sen. Dede Feldman honored with a Pacesetter Award from Women Legislators’ Lobby in Washington, DC

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Senator Dede Feldman just returned from a national conference in Washington, DC, where she joined hundreds of women strategizing about how women can help change our national priorities and build a better future. "Women at the Table of Power" brought together luminaries, women state legislators, and women activists - all working to empower women to step up to the tables of power and make our country safer, more democratic, more respected.

Senator Dede Feldman joined hundreds of women activists and state legislators from across the country earlier this month in Washington, DC to say: "We can change our national priorities. And women will set the course in a new direction."

Sen. Feldman was one of 22 women legislators honored with the organization's Pacesetter Award. WiLL Pacesetters are recognized for their noteworthy legislative service, their contributions to sound, progressive policy, and their groundbreaking leadership in the states. Feldman was lauded for her environmental, consumer and health legislation. The Award was presented on October 1, 2007, at a ceremony on Capitol Hill that also honored Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund.

At the conference, women from across the country shared ideas and strategies about how to move forward toward greater peace and security. Among those speaking were Jane Fonda, Marian Wright Edelman (founder and president, Children's Defense Fund), Ellen Bravo (founder, National 9 to 5), and many more. On October 2, the women headed to Capitol Hill, where they visited Members of Congress and lobbied for better federal budget priorities and a fresh look at our national security.

Activists Maria Santelli, of the Another Side Project, Ruth Koury, of the Pockets of Poverty Alliance, and Jessica Wilbanks, of Women's Action for New Directions, were part of the New Mexico delegation.

"The staggering amount of money that we are spending for the Iraq war and a continued build up of obsolete weapons has its prince back in the states," says Feldman. "The opportunities that we are sacrificing can be counted in the number of children that will continue to live without health care insurance, and the number of people who cannot afford a decent home."

So far the US has spent almost $610 billlion on the Iraq war. The cost to the taxpayers of New Mexico now totals $1.4 billion, according to the National Priorities Project. That's in addition to the 31 New Mexico soldiers who have paid the ultimate price, and the 245 who have been wounded.

"We need to readjust our priorities to provide real security here," says Feldman. "$1.4 billion could have covered 136,000 New Mexico kids with health insurance."

Feldman says she was heartened to join with women legislators from around the country who would like to see a shift of funding from military spending to helath and human services in their own states. "This conference gave me hope that women can help steer our community in a new direction. And we must do this. And it's not just the Iraq war, which is ruining our world standing and robbing us of our best and brightest young people. Our state, and our country, are seeing dangerous trends. Over the last few years, the current administration has chipped away at things that are vital to our country's peace and security. Today, we are more isolated in the world; our poorest are more at risk than ever; our economy grows weaker each day."

Native American Health Care in Crisis

O.K., I just can’t help but tell you the latest about Indian Health Care here in Albuquerque and what it’s doing to our uninsured rate around the state.  Sorry, Mark, what’s going on is just too important to leave unsaid.  The Albuquerque field office of IHS (Indian Health Service) has been cut to the bone.  In 2005, the IHS urgent care facility, which treated between 100 and 200 urban Indian patients daily, was closed down.  The IHS, in general, is being systematically defunded and dismantled by the federal government, with nothing set to take its place. Right now, for example, the federal government spends  $3,242 per year on federal prisoners, and only $2,130 per year for IHS patients—to whom it owes a federal trust responsibility.   
            
But even if it were fully funded, Native American patients face a dangerous run-around.  Presenting at an IHS facility here, they are told they can only get (pre-paid) care at their home reservation.  If some do travel there, they are asked for a utility bill or other proof of residency, which of course, they don’t have, because they live here.  This is a major problem, since there are 46,883 Native Americans in the Duke City, most of them not within range of Pueblo or other tribal health clinics.  The result is that those folks fall into the vast, unpaid rolls of the uninsured (now 432,000 statewide).  First Nations Community Health Source, Albuquerque’s only urban Indian health clinic, estimates that 70% of Albuquerque’s Indian population is uninsured.   Some argue that they are UNM Hospital’s responsibility, based on an old contract and lease.  Right now, many are incorporated into UNM Care or, more likely, are still waiting at the UNM emergency room. 
            
Advocates for Indian Health appeared before the Health and Human Services Committee at our July meeting in Zuni and Gallup.  To help, they want better funding from the federal level as well as the passage of a New Mexico Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which would create a $10 million fund to parallel the state’s existing health care efforts.  For more information, go to www.nmpovertylaw.org  or contact the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center at www.indianpueblo.org  .
            
Meanwhile, the drive for universal coverage is still picking up steam… more about this next time.

A Hard Look At Health Care Reform - It Just Keeps Coming

I've just now finished reading through the thirty-odd responses I had to a post I did here on health care reform about a month ago.  And they keep coming. Highlights of some of those comments--and those of folks that participated in the recent Health and Human Services Committee hearings in Las Vegas and Taos-- are posted here, too.  (See below). 

Models for New Mexico Health Care Reform - An Update

But first, an update on what's happening at the state level now that the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Task Force has wrapped up, the administration has weighed in and the legislature is beginning its work on this important issue.

The centerpiece of the Task Force was a study by Mathematica, an independent health policy consulting group hired to price out three different models of universal coverage for everyone under 65 years of age in New Mexico.   

* the Health Security Act, which most closely approximates a single payer system
* the Health Choices Plan, which is a market-based voucher system
* the Health Coverage Model, largely an extension of the present system aimed mainly at those who are uninsured. 
Mathematica also analyzed the cost of continuing the present system. 

To make a long story short, the estimates for implementation of the four plans (the fourth being a continuation of the present system) came in as follows:
*the Health Security Plan would cost $6.03 billion
* the Voucher Plan would cost $6.7 billion and
* the Coverage Plan would cost $6.4 billion. 

The cost of the current system (with over 400,000 uninsured) is currently $6.3 billion.  The costs were then projected out over five years and the amazing conclusion was this:  It will cost only incrementally more to implement a universal health care system for New Mexico than it will cost to do nothing and let the number of uninsured New Mexicans increase every year.

Does that get your attention?   It got mine.   If that's not a call to action what is?

Here are a few interesting tidbits from the study (in no particular order):
*There are more uninsured New Mexicans than we thought - 432,000 who are without coverage more than six months out of the year; Almost half the population is uninsured at some point during the year
*Employers (those who do offer coverage in New Mexico) are now paying 12-14 % of payroll on health care insurance and it is increasing every year
*Under new eligibility rules enacted by the legislature this year more than half of uninsured New Mexicans would be eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP if the state and the feds came up with the money and the department was able to sign them all up
*New Mexico is mischaracterized as a "small-employer" state; approximately as many private-sector workers are employed in very large firms in New Mexico as are employed in small firms.

The Final Report to the Governor and the Legislature from the Task Force is due out any day now-stay tuned at http://insurenewmexico.state.nm.us . 

Although the task force did not endorse any one of the plans, it did make some general recommendations including insurance reforms, creating a larger risk pool, maximizing Medicaid and creating a single health care authority.  The Governor publicly stated he is against any plan that does not have a role for the insurance companies, although he is in favor of insurance reforms. The administration is widely expected to begin floating a draft in September. 

Meanwhile the Health and Human Services Committee, which I chair, is examining this issue in depth and will either have its own bill or modifications to the administration's proposal.  The committee is taking testimony on health care reform at its hearings around the state this summer and fall. 

The next hearings are in Zuni Pueblo Aug. 22 and in Gallup on Aug. 23 and 22. Comments on health care reform are generally taken around 5:30- 7:00 pm each evening.
The September hearings will be held in Hobbs and Roswell, and
in October we'll be in Espanola and Santa Fe.  Check the legislative web site at http://legis.state.nm.us and go to "agendas and calendars. "

Meanwhile here's what some people around the state are saying.

"I have been left with nothing but my dignity," said Pat Leahan, uninsured, of Las Vegas.  "I live on $8,000 a year.  My sister and I sold everything to pay for my (other) sister's breast cancer treatment.  We said she'd have the best, and now we are left with nothing, so I go to the emergency room."

"If you don't have the money for a kidney transplant and your insurance doesn't cover it, you die," said Lee Einer, a self-styled insurance whistleblower who appeared in Michael Moore's SICO and testified at the HHS hearing in Las Vegas, NM

"When I go to my provider to talk about my bill, he says, 'don't ask me I didn't make this mess'…. I play by the rules, but the rules don't' play by my needs, Mardequeo Chacon, at the Taos HHS committee.

"My biggest problem with the health care is the cost. People who can afford' healthcare are expected to pay for it. The key term is 'afford.' I have a five-month-old son who must have health insurance. I also have a car payment, mortgage, credit card bills, loans, etc. If I have to choose between health care and paying my bills each month, which should I choose? Especially when I'm not sick or hurt? Secondly, not having health insurance penalizes people exorbitantly. An emergency room visit can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. A two to four day stay in the hospital, perhaps after a car accident or fall, could potentially bankrupt me and ruin the rest of my life. Even with these risks I can't afford health insurance and all my other bills.

Lastly, there is one group of people whom the state and federal government pay (and US) their health insurance-Prison Inmates. It's sad that as a productive and lawful citizen of the U.S.and New Mexico I can't afford health insurance unless I commit a crime and go to jail" -- James Boyd

"Okay, as a mother I am very concerned for my child and the coverage that she has. We pay over $120 a month for her coverage, plus $30 for regular doctor visits, and we have a huge deductible. I think that the coverage she receives is awful. We have to pay for shots that she receives, and anything above and beyond looking in her ears and nose. Why are the insurance companies allowed to have the cost of coverage so high and the benefits of the coverage so horrible? We need to take the power out of the hands of the big insurance companies and lower the cost, so that every American can afford coverage and feel a little bit more secure, if they ever really got sick!
Posted by: -- NG-a concerned mom

"I believe that a universal healthcare system in New Mexico and the United States would greatly impact families such as mine. We have completely negated any preventative care or even routine care when it comes to our health because we simply cannot afford to see a doctor without insurance. We are both students who are no longer covered under our parents' insurance, but work jobs that either do not offer insurance or the insurance is too expensive to carry. We would also no longer be riddled with new debt when we do have a healthcare emergency. What a sad state of affairs when one hopes that if they do get sick, they get hurt in their car because the car insurance covers part of it."
Posted by: -- Janelle

"I'm tired of being one of the ones that falls through the cracks. Too rich for any of the programs meant to help, too poor to pay for it myself. I'm tired of suffering with my many medical issues because I can't afford to seek treatment. When I finally do get insurance I'll have to worry about whether or not to get seen because if I lose my insurance it could mean I can't get treatment in the future now that the problems would be considered 'preexisting conditions.'What am I supposed to do?

I'm sick of hearing about all the corporate CEOs in this company with their multimillion (or billion) dollar compensation packages... I bet they can afford all the care they need! When did we decide that it was right for our CEOs to have so much money while the rest of the workers get paid a few tens of thousands at best? I'm not saying they don't deserve a lot more money. They do a whole lot more work. But can't we get things just a LITTLE more equitable? The bottom line? Healthcare shouldn't be a business. It benefits us all to keep our citizens healthy." -- Jennifer

The Nurse Advice Line in New Mexico is Growing like Gangbusters

In its first year of operation the new Nurse Advice Line at 1-877-725-2552 has gotten tens of thousands of calls from new moms, panicked caregivers and people with medical problems but no access to a doctor or medical provider. If that’s you… or someone you know… like your daughter or teenage son, call 1-877-725-2552. They operate 24:7. 

As we discuss a plan for universal coverage and health care reform in New Mexico this summer, access is a major issue. With a shortage of health care providers,especially in rural areas, a hot line like this really makes sense. I’m trying to get the Department of Health to recognize that this is health care reform and they should fund it more adequately. It’s now run as a public-private partnership between hospitals, the primary care association, & the UNM Department of Family Medicine. This is immediate access—and we should build on it.