SM 46
Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER A COORDINATED, COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF
INNOVATIVE HEALTH CARE REFORM INITIATIVES.
WHEREAS, health care expenditures continue to impact
state and federal budgets as well as the cost of goods and
services; and
WHEREAS, every individual carries a responsibility for
that individual's health care management through wellness and
prevention measures; and
WHEREAS, chronic problems such as obesity, hypertension,
diabetes and depression are often preventable or at least
treatable at an early stage; and
WHEREAS, wellness and prevention programs can lead to
lifestyle behavior changes that are key to decreasing health
care costs; and
WHEREAS, use of tobacco products continues to impact
health care costs adversely while tobacco settlement proceeds
are used on initiatives other than tobacco research and
cessation programs; and
WHEREAS, employers and employees continue to pay rising
insurance premiums, often to offset uncompensated care costs
and lower public program reimbursement levels; and
WHEREAS, tax incentives can provide initiatives for
pg_0002
SM 46
Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
employers, employees and individuals to obtain appropriate
insurance for broad or specialized coverage as well as to
increase coverage and thus spread the risk among larger
groups of insured individuals; and
WHEREAS, the number of health care profession graduates
from New Mexico colleges and universities has not kept pace
with the attrition of health care professionals or with the
demands of a growing population; and
WHEREAS, primary care clinics throughout the state
provide an invaluable service for patients with limited or no
access or coverage in rural and underserved areas; and
WHEREAS, consumer-driven, market-based health care
reform efforts provide initiatives that can be more readily
implemented and tested than public programs requiring
extensive legislative or rulemaking procedures; and
WHEREAS, information technology and telecommunications
offer an ability to streamline billing; claims processing;
reimbursement; medical records storage and retrieval; and
electronic prescriptions, databases and registries; as well
as health care delivery and interfaces to remote and
underserved areas; and
WHEREAS, the joint state-federal medicaid program
continues to take a disproportionate amount of state and
federal budget expenditures without a corresponding
improvement in the health care profile of covered
pg_0003
SM 46
Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
individuals;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative health and human
services committee be requested to review health care reform
from a broad perspective that includes wellness and
prevention measures and initiatives; early diagnosis and
treatment of chronic diseases; tax incentives to assist more
employers and individuals in purchasing insurance; expansion
of medical school, nursing school and other health care
profession schools to increase the number of graduates
entering the health care work force; funding for primary
health care clinics that provide primary and preventive care
to uninsured persons and in underserved areas; market-based
reforms that provide consumers with choices that meet their
respective needs; development of information technology
resources that increases consistency of information, claims
and reimbursement among payers, providers and patients;
medicaid reforms that recognize the cost-effectiveness of
programs for women and children while ensuring that the most
vulnerable persons, the elderly and disabled, receive
assistance through innovative and effective programs; and, in
conjunction with the tobacco settlement revenue oversight
committee, the study of tobacco-related illnesses and efforts
to reduce tobacco use, particularly among the youth; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative health and
pg_0004
SM 46
Page 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
human services committee be requested to provide an
appropriate forum to address these issues in a manner that
allows the committee to consider and recommend broad and
coordinated reform initiatives and work in conjunction with
the tobacco settlement revenue oversight committee to address
tobacco-related issues; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the legislative health and human services
committee and the tobacco settlement revenue oversight
committee.