Coverage Will Help Frontline, Essential Workers
After passing the House State Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee by a vote of 6-3 on Wednesday, HB 13, a bill supported by New Mexico Together for Health Care to expand emergency Medicaid coverage to include all COVID treatment, is headed to a vote by the full House of Representatives.
“Expanding emergency Medicaid to include outpatient COVID treatment will be a huge win for essential workers—like child-care providers, grocery clerks and cooks,” said Nicolas Cordova, an attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “Many essential workers need healthcare coverage, but are not eligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status.”
While the New Mexico Human Services Department already allows EMSA, the emergency Medicaid program, to cover COVID testing and inpatient care, Cordova said HB 13 is necessary to cover the costs of out-of-hospital care. HSD will also include vaccination under EMSA in the future.
Medical providers told the committee that they see the need for coverage every day with patients who avoid needed COVID treatment because they can’t afford it.
“Our patients fear for their lives,” said Dr. Anjali Taneja, executive director of Casa de Salud in Albuquerque, “but they avoid treatment because they are even more afraid of medical bills they can’t pay. We must expand emergency Medicaid to include outpatient COVID treatment.”
Gaby Hernandez, a DACA recipient and organizer with Casa de Salud, told the committee that in addition to their work at the clinic, they worry about their own family.
“Many of my loved ones, including my mom, my sisters and my aunts, are essential workers,” Hernandez said. “We live in fear of them getting COVID because of its deadly consequences, but we also fear the thousands of dollars in medical bills that they will end up with.”
“Immigrants are at the heart of our communities and are an essential part of our economy,” said Adriann Barboa, Forward Together Action’s New Mexico Policy Director. “We must ensure that immigrants have the coverage they need to get treated for COVID 19. This is a public health issue and it must be addressed.”
HB 13, sponsored by Rep. Brittney Barreras, is expected to be on the House calendar within the next week.
