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October 2, 2006

Send Us Your Tireless Workers...

It seems like we just finished the 2006 Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Award ceremony and here we are already calling for nominations for 2007. Our annual award honors New Mexico youths (ages 13 through 26) who are making a difference in their communities through service work or outreach.

We have an exciting new development for the coming year: we’ve split the award into two age groups. Our selection committee will now designate one honoree and one winner in both the 13- to 18-year-old age group and the 19- to 26-year-old age group. Each finalist and winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship and an award sculpture. As always, of course, we’ll honor all nominees for the community service they perform.

The deadline for nominations is 3:00 p.m., Friday, February 9, 2007. If you’d like a nomination packet mailed to you call 505-244-9505, ext. 10. You can also download the forms as pdfs here: www.nmvoices.org/abysa.htm. The first five nominators will receive free tickets to the awards ceremony. The awards ceremony will be Friday, April 20, 2007, at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque.

Twice the Bad News

Two depressing studies came out last week about the state of health insurance coverage for children. Both the Economic Policy Institute and the Campaign for Children’s Health Care report that nationwide, the number of uninsured children rose for the first time in seven years. While families have seen a steady decline in employer-based health insurance, that drop had been offset for children with programs such as Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). But in 2005, coverage offered by those programs dropped as well, leaving even more American children without health insurance.

We Americans may still consider our country the world’s economic superpower, but when we can’t even guarantee that all of our children have the means to see a doctor, what does it say about our priorities? And if children are our future, what does our inability to fully invest in them say about what lies ahead for the nation?

Read the EPI’s ‘snapshot’ report here: http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_20060927

New Mexico’s Numbers

The Campaign for Children’s Health Care broke the numbers of uninsured children down by state and present this graphic picture: If all of the uninsured children in New Mexico held hands, their child chain would stretch 66 miles. Those same kids could fill 1,582 school buses or form 9,667 little league teams. Of course, they’d want to be careful not to get injured or sick because their parents can’t afford a doctor.

The report goes on to say that 90 percent of New Mexico’s uninsured children live in working families and 80 percent live in families with incomes at or below twice the federal poverty level (that’s less than $33,200 for a family of three in 2006).

Read the Campaign for Children’s Health Care here: http://www.childrenshealthcampaign.org/tools/reports/no-shelter-from-the-storm.html

Or view just the New Mexico statistics here: http://www.childrenshealthcampaign.org/tools/state-fact-sheets/NM-uninsured-kids.pdf

Cover our Kids!

Fortunately, Governor Richardson wants all New Mexico children to have access to health care, and he’s even doing something more than talking about it. As you may know, the governor appointed the Health Coverage for All New Mexicans Committee, which is charged with identifying various universal health care models that might work in our state.

Last week we asked you to attend the committee meeting and give your input. Your voice can still be heard even if you were unable to attend. You can still send your comments via email to RubyAnn.Esquibel@state.nm.us; via snail mail to Ruby Ann Esquibel, Human Services Department, PO Box 2348, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2348; Or via fax to 505-827-3185.

Save the Date

Speaking of health care coverage ... what a great segue into introducing our upcoming Children’s Health Care in New Mexico Town Hall. It will be on Thursday, November 9, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Albuquerque. We’ll keep you posted on the details.

What Have They Done for Us Lately?

Much has been made of the current “do-nothing” Congress, and a new poll from CBS News and the New York Times highlights that sentiment well. Fully 75 percent of the voters polled couldn't name one thing Congress has accomplished this year. Not one. Not that Congress could do anything about it now – they’ve recessed until after the November election.

If they really were unable to figure out for themselves what they should’ve been doing, we would have been happy to make a few suggestions. Guaranteed health care for all Americans would have been a good start. Well, there’s always next year.

Are You Registered?

Just a quick reminder that Tuesday, October 10 is the last day you can register in order to vote in the November 7 election. Four of New Mexico’s five congressional seats will be on the ballot along with a whole slew of other statewide and local races. If you need to register and aren’t sure how to go about it, contact your County Clerk’s office for details.

Race Matters Task Force

Please join us on Wednesday, October 4, at 2:00 p.m., to continue work on the policy recommendations that resulted from the Race Matters conference. Visit http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters.htm for more information and to register.

Your financial support is critical to our work. Please consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm