I reminded the Committee that, for uninsured New Mexicans, this is literally a matter of life and death. It is estimated that more than 300 New Mexicans die every year because they don’t get the kind of medical treatment they need due to not having health insurance. Having health insurance means people can get the kind of preventive and follow-up care that saves lives (and saves money).
Each month, the Human Services Department posts figures showing the number of people in different categories enrolled in Medicaid (with a four-month lag). They just released the numbers for October 2011, broken down by adults and children and by various categories. Once again, children’s enrollment was down to 336,436. This is about the same as October 2010 (336,034), even though the number of New Mexico children has grown almost 2 percent over the year.
The new federal dollars flowing to New Mexico health care providers will generate billions more in economic activity, creating tens of thousands of new jobs and raising about $1billion in new state tax revenue—far more than the state’s share of the cost of implementing ACA. The more aggressive the state is in expanding health care to uninsured New Mexicans, the greater the health and economic benefits to the state.
Politicos on both sides of the aisle make accusations about the “other side” all the time. What’s almost as bad as the ugly partisanship is the fact that they’re making very simple claims about very complex subjects. So it’s refreshing when some group puts down the basic facts in a simple-to-follow format like the charts referred to below, which have lately been making the rounds on the Internet.
Politics can make for strange bedfellows. In an unusual break with the Obama administration, several prominent Democrats in Congress have filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief in the Supreme Court, urging that private citizens be allowed to sue states that are not fulfilling their obligation to provide health care to eligible Medicaid recipients if they accept federal Medicaid funds (which all the states do).
Some members of Congress are driving the United States and the world to the brink of economic disaster on the grounds that they have to stop “out-of-control” government spending. This is a dangerous myth and it’s about to steer us over a cliff – completely unnecessarily.
Everyone should take a close look at The People's Budget, published on the website of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. It is very readable and it offers a reasonable and humane alternative to both the Ryan and the Obama plans for deficit reduction.
It’s deeply disappointing that the Governor decided to veto SB 38/370, which the Legislature passed to create a New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. The exchange would have been a web-based marketplace where individuals and small employers could compare different private insurance policies before they purchase.
The New Mexico Legislature is to be commended for sparing Medicaid serious cuts in the coming fiscal year (FY12). They did this despite the governor’s determination not to permit any revenue increases. Medicaid for kids – called New Mexikids – covers more New Mexico children than any other health insurance program. Without it, more than 300,000 children from low-income families would be without health care.