‘Medicaid Forwardʼ would help strengthen the health care system in New Mexico
February 22, 2025Expanding health care access should never be framed as a threat to the medical system. It is, in fact, the solution to many of its most pressing challenges. As health care providers working on the front lines, we see firsthand the devastating effects of a broken system, such as delays in care and rationing medications due to cost.
House Bill 186, also known as Medicaid Forward, is a responsible, well-researched plan that will expand coverage, strengthen provider reimbursement and stabilize New Mexico’s health care system.
Medicaid Forward opens Medicaid to people above current income limits, allowing them to buy the same coverage by paying premiums on a sliding scale. It lowers health care costs for the state, employers and all New Mexicans, ensuring no one pays more than 5% of their income for coverage. This program also provides continued coverage for those transitioning between jobs or income levels, eliminating the “Medicaid cliff” that forces families to choose between career advancement and maintaining health coverage.
Opponents argue that low Medicaid reimbursement rates are the real problem, yet they ignore a key fact: Medicaid Forward anticipates increased provider payments. Projections in the statecommissioned Mercer study include an increase in provider Medicaid revenues of 3.4%, bringing in crucial federal matching funds to further support doctors and hospitals.
Medicaid Forward also addresses the shortage of health care professionals in both urban and rural New Mexico. We are already struggling with a critical lack of providers, and this bill helps to retain health care workers by providing increased payment rates and greater stability for practices.
Further, despite claims that this plan will drive up costs, the data tell a much different story: Medicaid Forward is projected to result in a net gain of $45.8 million annually for New Mexico by reducing the state’s burden for public employee health care, shifting costs to federal matching funds and increasing Medicaid-related revenues.
Some may worry that Medicaid Forward could disrupt private medical practices. However, the Mercer study found that only 7% to 14% of people currently insured under commercial plans would switch to Medicaid Forward. That shift is far too small to destabilize the private insurance market — and more importantly, businesses will save an estimated $229 million annually by reducing health care costs. The real threat to private practices is the current system, where too many people are uninsured or underinsured.
At the core of this debate is a simple question: Who is our health care system really serving? Right now, too many working families are stuck in a broken system, earning just enough to lose Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. Medicaid Forward is the solution to this crisis.
It’s time to move forward. New Mexico deserves a health care system that works for all of us.
Dr. Anjali Taneja and Dr. Cynthia Sanchez are family physicians in Albuquerque. They are members of the VIDA Health Leaders Network, a statewide network of health care professionals and health workers who support expanding access to high quality health care for all New Mexicans.
Originally published in pressreader