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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Sandoval

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/27/2007

HB 173

SHORT TITLE Childhood Obesity Prevention & Treatment

SB

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$150.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to SB 180/HB 429 (Duplicates), SB 539, SB 232/HB 208 (Duplicates), SB 538/HB 428

(Duplicates), SB 456/HB 427 (Duplicates).

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act (SB 2 and HB 7)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD)

Public Education Department (PED)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 173 appropriates $150,000 from the General Fund to the Board of regents of the Uni-

versity of New Mexico for expenditure in FY 2008 for the Health Sciences Center Pediatric de-

partment’s Telehealth programs to help rural providers and school-based health centers to treat

and prevent childhood obesity.

House Bill 173 -- Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $150,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the General Fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2008 shall revert to the

General Fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DOH Analysis

Childhood obesity in New Mexico is a serious health problem and has been

identified as one of Governor Richardson’s health priority areas. At least 26%

of NM high school students weigh too much (12% overweight and over 14% at

risk for overweight; 2005 NM Youth Risk & Resiliency Survey) and 24% of

NM 2- to 5-year olds who participate in federally funded nutrition programs

weigh too much (11% overweight and 13% at risk for overweight, based on di-

rect 2005 measurements). Children and adolescents with weight problems are

at increased risk for becoming adults with weight problems, and may develop

risk factors for heart disease (abnormal cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood

sugar) at an early age.

Prevention and treatment of obesity are complicated by the lack of trained spe-

cialists and inadequate treatment guidelines. In addition, most primary care

providers have not been trained to diagnose and treat the conditions associated

with obesity in children. Telehealth consultation for rural providers in both

community clinics and SBHCs is a promising new strategy for improving

healthcare for obese and overweight children in their home communities.

The 2006 legislature appropriated funding for telehealth equipment for 18

school-based health centers (SBHCs). HB173 would provide specific funding

to use the new telehealth network for SBHCs to address obesity among stu-

dents in rural New Mexico. The Envision New Mexico program of the UNM

Health Sciences Center has started a telehealth pilot project in two SBHCs to

address overweight and obesity issues.

This request was not on the list of priority projects submitted by UNM-HSC HED) for review

and was not included in the Department's funding recommendation for FY08.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

House Bill 173 would have implications for the DOH Strategic Plan, Program Area 1, TASK 1:

Expand Healthcare Access in Rural and Underserved Areas through Telehealth Services, and

Program Area 2: Public Health, Task 4: Reduce child and adolescent obesity and diabetes in all

populations, and TASK 7: Expand Healthcare for School-Age Children and Youth Through

School-Based Health Services.

The DOH Performance Measures, while not referenced in HB 173, are directly related.

House Bill 173 -- Page

3

DOH Performance Measures:

•

Number of established telehealth sites (including video) throughout the state for

training, consultation among physicians, or patient services.

•

Number of telehealth sites throughout the state used for patient services.

•

Number of telehealth specialty services available through the telehealth network.

•

Number of patient encounters provided through telehealth sites statewide.

•

Number of hours of health related training and consultation.

•

Percent of adolescents grades 9-12 who are not overweight/obese.

•

Number of youth served at school-based health centers.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

SB 180/HB 429 – appropriate $600,000 to DOH to fund a telehealth program serving children,

families, and health care providers in rural areas.

SB 539 – appropriates $2.4 million to DOH to, among other activities, enhance existing tele-

health services.

SB 232/HB 208 – appropriate $8.0 million to fund elementary physical education.

SB 538/HB 428 – amend the New Mexico Telehealth Commission Act to include Health Infor-

mation Technology in title and activities.

SB 538/HB 428 – define telehealth services to include consultations, direct patient care, and

health care education.

HB 116 – appropriates $1.0 million to fund the LamdaRail dual fiber network that could provide

an alternative source of broadband access to facilitate telehealth services.

BM/sb