By Gail Stamler, Certified Nurse Midwife, Grant County
As published in the Silver City Daily Press on September 25, 2024
Since 2002, 192 hospitals in rural America have closed their doors due to unstable reimbursements, threatening the very fabric of health care in these communities. New Mexico, where 700,000 of our 2 million residents live in rural communities, cannot afford to let this trend continue.
New Mexico lawmakers answered the call of the community to make health care more affordable for our families by investing in studying and designing Medicaid Forward, and as a resident and a certified nurse-midwife in Grant County, I am encouraging our state leaders and the public to rally behind this vital initiative.
Picture the nightmare of waking up at 2 a.m. with chest pain, only to find that the nearest hospital is 60 or 100 miles away. Or consider the fear of your pregnant wife suddenly experiencing a complication in the middle of the night, weeks before her due date. In rural areas like Grant County, where the nearest hospital is 60 miles away, a two- to three-hour drive could mean the difference between life and death for someone having a heart attack or facing a pregnancy emergency. Rural hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers are not just health care providers; they are lifelines for rural communities like mine.
The hospital in Grant County is a beacon of hope, providing round-the-clock maternal/ child services essential for the well-being of mothers and their babies. Without these services, New Mexico faces the tragic possibility of losing both moms and babies. Our state’s future relies on the health of these young families, and we must act decisively to preserve and enhance our health care services and make sure every New Mexican has access to affordable care.
Medicaid Forward offers a transformative solution by providing high-quality insurance coverage, with premiums and out-of-pocket expenses capped at less than 5 percent of a household’s income. Currently, New Mexicans spend more than 10 percent of their annual salaries on health insurance premiums for coverage provided by their employer, not including out-ofpocket expenses. As health care costs continue to escalate, this situation is unsustainable.
We cannot afford to sacrifice lives to gaps in our health care system. Medicaid Forward presents a smarter, more compassionate approach to addressing this crisis. According to the Urban Institute, the Medicaid Forward plan would significantly reduce employer health care, potentially allowing businesses to increase wages. Household spending on health care would decrease by approximately 39 percent, while uncompensated hospital care costs would drop by more than $40 million. Moreover, the plan’s increased federal funding would enhance reimbursement rates for hospitals and providers, offering essential incentives to recruit and retain health care professionals in regions like ours.
We stand at a crossroads in American health care, and now is the time for decisive action. Medicaid Forward has the potential to set a precedent for the entire nation. Let’s seize this opportunity to lead the way. Support Medicaid Forward and help make New Mexico a model of health care innovation and accessibility.
(s)Gail Stamler Gila
