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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Picraux
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
02/10/08
HB 472
SHORT TITLE UNM Hepatitis C Program
SB
ANALYST Williams
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$750.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act.
Relates to HB 601, SB 345
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Higher Education Department (HED)
Department of Health (DOH)
New Mexico Health Policy Commission (HPC)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 472 appropriates $750 thousand from the general fund to the Board of Regents of the
University of New Mexico to support and expand the hepatitis C program and expand the Project
ECHO program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $750 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall
revert to the general fund.
This request was not submitted by UNM to the HED in the Fall 2007 budget cycle. Base
funding in FY08 is included in both the UNM HSC budget as well as DOH. The January 2008
LFC report “Higher Education Department Review of Selected Research and Public Service
Projects" discusses best practices for funding these types of projects.
pg_0002
House Bill 472 – Page
2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to DOH, the bill would support the UNM/HSC Hepatitis C Program, which provides
local access to Hepatitis C disease management and treatment services for infected persons
living in rural and underserved communities across the state. The UNM/HSC Hepatitis C
Program provides clinical consult services and intensive training to rural primary care physicians
utilizing telehealth technology. Medical specialists at UNM/HSC provide expertise and co-
manage care of Hepatitis C patients with the rural-based primary care physician.
Approximately 24,000 to 28,000 persons may be infected with Hepatitis C in the state (Hepatitis
C Surveillance Report 2006, DOH). Specialist care for chronic diseases such as Hepatitis C is
frequently unavailable in rural communities of the state. Persons infected with Hepatitis C may
not pursue care until the disease has progressed and adverse medical consequences have
occurred, ultimately resulting in a higher cost of care. The bill could promote local and
affordable access to Hepatitis C management and treatment services, potentially leading to
earlier initiation of medical care to persons living in those rural communities.
According to the HED, funding would expand the number of sites under the existing Hepatitis C
Program; build a model program of rheumatology experts and of mental health disorder experts,
and continue to sustain and expand the scope of the existing program by using its developed
model to treat other complicated, chronic health conditions throughout rural areas of the state
such as:
•
Substance Use Disorder
•
Behavioral/Mental Health
•
HIV/AIDS
•
Rheumatology
•
Cardiac Risk Reduction
•
Diabetes
•
Weight Reduction
•
Smoking Cessation
•
High risk Pregnancy
The HPC states that through a $2.8 million legislative allocation in 2005-2006, the Hepatitis
Prevention Program entered into a partnership with the UNM Health Sciences Center, NM
Corrections Department, and NM Primary Care Association to develop a model for providing
chronic disease management services at primary care sites for HCV infected persons in rural or
underserved communities of New Mexico. This model utilizes video-conferencing technology to
provide specialty care across a spectrum of areas including gastroenterology, psychology, and
substance use disorders. The Hepatitis C Initiative facilitates services including pharmaceutical
treatment, where indicated, as well as case management for co-morbid conditions and substance
use disorders. Currently there are 11 sites in operation throughout New Mexico
AW/mt