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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Beffort
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/18/08
HB
SHORT TITLE Study College Health Clinic Operating Hours
SJM 10
ANALYST Escudero
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Response Received From:
Health Policy Commission (HPC)
Higher Education Department (HED)
Department of Health (DOH)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
This Senate Joint Memorial requests The Higher Education Department to study the feasibility
and cost of expanding the time of operation of student health clinics at public post-secondary
educational institutions and of cooperative arrangements between those clinics and Federally
Qualified Health Centers.
The Health Policy Commission states:
Most students at public post-secondary educational institutions receive health care at student
health clinics established by those institutions and do not have the resources to seek
alternative care.
•
Public post-secondary educational institution student health clinics may be open for only
limited hours during the day and may not be open year-round.
•
At times when student health clinics are not open, students may not seek alternative care,
leading to an injury or illness becoming more difficult and costly to treat, or they may
seek care at emergency rooms, where the care is expensive and may result in public
reimbursement for the care.
•
Federally qualified health centers, as recognized by the health resources and services
administration of the United States department of health and human services, are located
in many parts of New Mexico where public post-secondary educational institutions are
also located; and
•
These federally recognized health centers provide comprehensive health care services and
charge fees adjusted to a patient's ability to pay.
pg_0002
Senate Joint Memorial 10 – Page
2
The Memorial further requests that the higher education department be requested:
•
To also study the feasibility and cost of cooperative arrangements between student
health clinics and federally qualified health centers that would encourage students to
seek services at those health centers when student health clinics are closed.
•
The Memorial requests that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the Chairs of
the Legislative Education Study Committee and the Interim Legislative Health and
Human Services Committee and to the Secretary of Higher Education.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
None identified by Health Policy Commission (HPC)
None identified by Higher Education Department (HED)
None identified by Department of Health (DOH)
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to the Health Policy Commission:
•
SJM10 recognizes that students seek health care from student health clinics at public
post-secondary educational institutions, in which these clinics have limited hours of
operation and not open year-round. As a result, students may not seek alternative care.
•
This Joint Memorial identifies that when students do not seek alternative care, an injury
or illness may worsen and treatment then becomes costly. Students may seek care at
emergency rooms, in which care is expensive and may result in public reimbursement for
the care.
•
SJM10 recognizes that New Mexico has Federally Qualified Health Centers, where
comprehensive health care services are provided.
•
SJM10 requires the Higher Education Department to report its findings to the Legislative
According to the Department of Health:
•
The SJM10 study may want to focus on key resource questions, such as (1) the current
capacity of student health clinics, (2) the unmet need for services at student health clinics,
(3) staffing requirements necessary to address unmet needs, and (4) capital requirements
for student health clinic facilities.
•
FQHCs have limited capacity and operate under unique requirements imposed by the
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Bureau of Primary Health Care. The
study might also consider how these Federal requirements would affect the ability of
FQHCs to enter into cooperative relationships with post-secondary educational
institutions.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
The Higher Education Department (HED) quotes that SJM10 has a performance mechanism in
place where the New Mexico Higher Education Department must report findings on the
feasibility and cost of keeping student health clinics at public postsecondary educational
institutions open year-round and expanding their hours of operation.
pg_0003
Senate Joint Memorial 10 – Page
3
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
Per Higher Education Department (HED), the activities would require a significant time
investment for medical/educational research, meetings and data collection. Per the memorial, all
tasks would be performed with existing staff and budget resources.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
SJM10 relates to SB37- Require College Student Health Insurance, SB38-Non Resident College
student Health Insurance.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The following are two-year public post-secondary educational institutions and student health
center information:
•
Central New Mexico Community College – Student Health Center, open Monday
through Friday 8:00am-5:00pm (all year-round)
•
Clovis Community College – does not have a student health center
•
Crownpoint Institute of Technology – does not have a student health center
•
Dinι College (in Crownpoint) – does not have a student health center
•
Dinι College (in Shiprock) – does not have a student health center
•
Eastern New Mexico University – Roswell Branch – has a student health center
•
Eastern New Mexico University – Ruidoso Branch – does not have student health center
•
Institute of American Indian Arts – no information available
•
Luna Community College – no information available
•
Mesalands Community College – does not have a student health center
•
New Mexico Junior College – has a student health center, open one to two days per week
(the days change weekly) and operation hours vary
•
New Mexico Military Institute – Marshall Infirmary, 24 hours a day during academic
sessions (sometimes summer sessions do not have classes and Infirmary is not open)
•
New Mexico State University – Alamogordo Branch – does not have a student health
clinic
•
New Mexico State University – Carlsbad Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
New Mexico State University – Dona Ana Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
New Mexico State University – Grants Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
Northern New Mexico College – does not have a student health clinic
•
Santa Fe Community College – does not have a student health clinic
•
San Juan College – does not have a student health clinic
•
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) – does not have a student health clinic
•
University of New Mexico – Gallup Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
University of New Mexico – Los Alamos Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
University of New Mexico – Valencia Branch – does not have a student health clinic
•
University of New Mexico – Taos Education Center – does not have a student health
clinic
pg_0004
Senate Joint Memorial 10 – Page
4
The following are four-year public post-secondary educational institutions and student health
center information:
•
Eastern New Mexico University – Student Health Services, open Monday through Friday
8:00am-5:00pm (closed 12:00pm to 1:00pm) while school is in session
•
New Mexico Highlands University – Student Health Center, open Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday 8:00am-5:00pm (closed 12:00pm to 1:00pm)
•
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology – The Student Health Center is a
licensed medical office that is open full-time.
Spring and Fall Semester Schedule:
8am until 4pm -- Monday, Tuesday, Friday
8am until 7pm -- Wednesday and Thursday
Summer Schedule:
8am until 4pm -- Daily
•
New Mexico State University – Student Health Center, open Monday through Friday
7:30am-4:30pm (only during the summer, the Student Health Center is closed from
11:30am-1:00pm and closed on Saturdays) and Saturday Clinic operation hours are from
8:30am to 11:30am.
•
Northern New Mexico College – Does not have a student health center
•
University of New Mexico – Student Health Center, open Monday through Friday
8:00am-5:00pm (closed from 8:00am-9:00am on Tuesdays)
•
Western New Mexico University – Student Health Services, open Monday through
Friday 10:00am-6:00pm
•
Summer Session:
1. Student Activity fees are not normally charged during summer sessions. Students are
allowed one free visit per session. For subsequent visits during that Summer Session,
there will be a charge of $15.00/visit.
2. Students who were enrolled at WNMU in the Spring Semester, and who will be
enrolled at WNMU in the fall but not enrolled in Summer School, may be seen at the
Health Services by paying the $15.00 office visit charge.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)
FQHCs are “safety net" providers such as community health centers, public housing centers,
outpatient health programs funded by the Indian Health Service, and programs serving migrants
and the homeless. The main purpose of the FQHC Program is to enhance the provision of
primary care services in underserved urban and rural communities. Medicare pays FQHCs,
which are considered suppliers of Medicare services, an all-inclusive per visit amount based on
reasonable costs with the exception of psychological or psychiatric therapeutic services.
A FQHC generally provides the following services:
•
Physicians’ services;
•
Services and supplies incident to the services of physicians;
•
Services of nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA), or certified nurse
midwives (CNM).
•
FQHCs also provide preventive primary health services when furnished by or under the
direct supervision of a physician, NP, PA, or CNM.
pg_0005
Senate Joint Memorial 10 – Page
5
New Mexico Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)
According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, New Mexico has 105 service delivery sites
operated by federally-funded Federally Qualified Health Centers as of 2006.
ALTERNATIVES
None identified by Health Policy Commission
None identified by Higher Education Department
None identified by Department of Health
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
According to Higher Education Department, not enacting SJM10 may affect health
quality/outcomes for students attending public postsecondary institutions.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
Can the medical/educational research be done with the existing staff without undo stress.
Will this place additional burdens on staff.
Have they been included in this collaboration and are aware this extra duties and responsibilities
this will entail.
Are there currently any records and stats on how many students have used emergency medical
services, and what the outcomes were of using emergency services. How do we know these
costs went back to the taxpayer.
Can you require students to purchase insurance and who will monitor that they keep it.
What is the current system on the requirement of health insurance for students.
PME/nt