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

SPONSOR Altamirano

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/23/07

HB

SHORT TITLE Southwest NM Health & Family Services

SB 155

ANALYST Geisler

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$250.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates: House Bill 170

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 155, for the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, would appropriate a

total of $250,000 to the Department of Health (DOH) for the following:

•

$100,000 to provide integrated primary care and family support services in southwestern

New Mexico;

•

$150,000 to address regional health priorities identified by county health councils and other

agencies in Catron, Grant, Luna and Hidalgo counties employing a regional approach in de-

veloping model wellness programs across organizational and geographic boundaries and lev-

eraging resources across diverse health organizations.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The funding contained in this bill is not currently in the agency budget request for FY08.

Senate Bill 155 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Primary care and family support services are currently integrated in southwestern New Mexico.

Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) is a primary care provider in Hidalgo and Grant Counties,

which has integrated Family Support Centers (FSC) into their medical services. Currently the

Family Support Centers are located in Lordsburg, Silver City, Mimbres Valley, Bayard and Gila

in Grant and Hidalgo Counties. The family support services include eligibility assessments for

indigent fund, HMS sliding scale and Medicaid referrals to health and social services resources

including housing, emergency assistance, income support, and senior services. The FSC also

houses the Medication Assistance Program, support groups, education classes, workshops, and

community meetings/organizing space and La Vida Diabetes Resource Center.

The Wellness Coalition (TWC) is a regional non-profit, which builds community capacity to im-

prove health and wellness in Catron, Grant, Luna, and Hidalgo Counties. It currently administers

a number of state and federal programs in the areas of: 1) substance abuse prevention, 2) access

to health care and health services, 3) youth development, and 4) health information and tele-

medicine technology.

Each of the four counties listed in this bill is a Health Resources and Services Administration

(HRSA) designated Health Professional Shortage Area. In addition, Luna, Catron, and Hidalgo

County and Bayard in Grant County are designed HRSA Medically Underserved Areas. The

percentage of families in poverty from the 2000 Census is as follows: Catron 17.4%, Grant

15.1%, Hidalgo 23.9 % and Luna at 27.2% with New Mexico at 24.4%. Hidalgo, Luna and the

southern most tip of Grant County are included in the La Paz agreement as a border county

within 60 miles of the international border. Luna and Hidalgo County share a direct border with

Mexico. Poverty and shortages of health professionals significantly contribute to health dispari-

ties in the populations of these counties.

ADMINSTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DOH notes that contracts for delivering the services envisioned by this bill would be subject to

competitive bid.

DUPLICATION

Senate Bill 155 is duplicated by House Bill 170.

GG/mt