By Abuko Estrada
Affordable healthcare coverage for all New Mexicans could soon be a reality. For the past year and a half, families across the state in the NM Together for Healthcare campaign have been talking to their communities and elected leaders about opening up Medicaid so that anyone could buy into it — even those who don’t qualify for Medicaid currently.
The vision could soon become a reality in the 2019 legislative session. Support is spreading among state policymakers for a Medicaid Buy-in plan. Governor-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham has agreed it could be the most viable path towards healthcare coverage for all New Mexicans.
In New Mexico, over 180,000 residents remain uninsured despite coverage gains made under the Affordable Care Act. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2016, 45 percent of adults said they lacked healthcare coverage due to high costs. Some are locked out of no-cost or subsidized coverage systems altogether. Others, whose incomes are just too high to qualify for Medicaid, still can’t afford coverage even with tax credits provided by the federal government.
A Medicaid buy-in option would take the healthcare coverage affordability issues head-on by leveraging Medicaid to offer individuals and families more affordable coverage than is available through the private marketplace.
With the help of the campaign, communities around the state have voiced their support for the state to provide such an option for New Mexicans. The counties of McKinley, Bernalillo, and Doña Ana; the cities of Anthony, Sunland Park, and Albuquerque; and the All Pueblo Council of Governors passed resolutions supporting New Mexico’s exploration of a Medicaid buy-in plan.
Manatt Health Solutions, a policy and strategic advisory group, is helping the state determine the best path for such a plan through a two-phase study. The first phase, which wraps up this month, outlines the pros and cons of different Medicaid buy-in models. The second phase, which should be done by January, will look at the costs to consumers, the impact on hospitals and other healthcare providers, and the costs to the state budget from implementing one or two of the models.
Assuming the study shows a viable path for the Medicaid buy-in, the NM Together for Healthcare Coalition will work closely with legislators to develop legislation for the state to implement the plan as soon as 2020.
To follow Medicaid Buy-in’s progress in New Mexico, please sign up for the NM Together for Healthcare newsletter. Please also call your local representative and senator to let them know you want them to pass Medicaid buy-in legislation during the 2019 legislative session.
