By Colin Baillio of Health Action New Mexico and Ana Moran of United States of Care
Deming Community Health Workers
We met with community health workers at a local clinic who described barriers people are facing. They told us stories about people facing a rocky transition between Medicaid and private insurance.
They said many families faced issues navigating Marketplace coverage and missed the enrollment window, leaving them without insurance for the rest of the year. When people don’t have coverage but need to continue care, it puts a strain on their personal finances. The clinic doesn’t deny care to anyone, and lack of affordable coverage also strains the clinic.
The community health workers told us that the immigrant families want to be able to buy insurance but don’t have any way to do so. One said, “These are hardworking people who want to pay their fair share, but right now, there aren’t any options for them.” That is what we’ve heard from immigrant families all across the state.
The Deming community health team shared that the Managed Care Organizations that offer Medicaid are putting restrictive mileage caps on the non-emergency medical transportation benefit, leaving families without a way to get to their regular visits. Rural New Mexico faces a severe shortage of providers. People must take long drives to get to their appointments. Medicaid covers these transportations, but MCOs are limiting how much patients can use them.
Cutting people off from the care they need because they don’t have a means of transportation is just wrong. We plan to alert officials to this issue.
Mental Health Providers
We met with several groups who provide mental health care in Luna County. While they are still feeling the effects of the 2013 mental health shake-up, providers are showing incredible resilience.
Recruiting and keeping mental health providers has been one of the most difficult challenges for rural New Mexico. Some people suggested that the state should do more to encourage people to practice in rural areas and create a community education pipeline so that students have the support they need to obtain higher education and return to serve their community.
All providers commended Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s efforts to increase Medicaid reimbursements for mental health services and were enthused about Minnesota’s policy that eliminates co-pays for mental health visits as part of the state’s Basic Health Program.
Deming Community Coalition
We were honored to present to the Deming Community Coalition, a group of concerned citizens who come together every month to discuss emerging issues and ways that they can collaborate to improve the lives of their community.
The group is made up of community leaders, local businesses, public health experts, law enforcement officers, schools, and others who have a passion for their community. We thank the coalition for giving us time to present and asking thoughtful questions about our proposal.
