Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports
if they are used for other purposes.
Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).
Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and
attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Komadina
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/26/06
HB
SHORT TITLE NM Geriatric Disorder Telemedicine Program
SB 89
ANALYST Earp
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$460.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates House Bill 217
Relates to Senate Bill 126 and House Bill 157
Relates to Appropriation in House Bill 2
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
Department of Heath (DH)
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
Senate Bill 89, sponsored by Senator Komadina on behalf of the interim Legislative Health and
Human Services Committee, appropriates $460,000 from the general fund to the University of
New Mexico (UNM) Board of Regents. These funds are to be used by the UNM Center on Ag-
ing to develop a network of community health centers in rural and small urban communities to
utilize an existing program of interactive telemedicine for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of
geriatric disorders.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $460,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert
pg_0002
Senate Bill 89 – Page
2
to the general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
This proposal was not included on the priority list for expansion of special programs submitted
by the UNM Board of Regents to the Higher Education Department (HED) for review. Conse-
quently, this request was not included in HED’s funding recommendation for FY07.
Information provided through UNMHSC indicates that the appropriation would be used to de-
velop and support geriatric service sites at five or six community health centers around the state.
These sites would be linked via the ECHO Telehealth System to the UNM Center on Aging for
consultation on difficult health and dementia problems.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The UNM Health Sciences Center would be responsible for administering the funded appropri-
ated via this legislation. No significant additional administrative impact is evident.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
Senate Bill 89 and House Bill 217 are duplicate measures.
This bill is generally related to Senate Bill126 and House Bill 157. These are duplicate bills that
establish a southern New Mexico Center on Aging at New Mexico State University.
This bill is related to a recurring line-item appropriation in House Bill 2 for the Telemedicine
Program at the UNMHSC.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The Department of Health notes that this bill proposes to utilize an existing program of interac-
tive telemedicine (UNM’s “ECHO Telehealth System) for assessment, diagnosis and treatment
of geriatric disorders. Community health centers in rural and remote areas of New Mexico are
often isolated from state-of-the-art medical diagnosis and consultation regarding many health
issues. Telemedicine provides the opportunity to improve health care in rural areas of the state
through the use of video conferencing equipment. Telemedicine is currently being incorporated
into the management of hepatitis C in selected clinics around the state.
DE/nt