IN THE NEWS: Deb Haaland Dives Into Public Option as Part of Healthcare Plan
Haaland’s Plan Addresses Medicaid Cuts, Healthcare Worker Shortages, and High Healthcare Costs
Albuquerque, N.M. – In case you missed it, Deb Haaland, who is running to be the next governor of New Mexico announced her healthcare policy plan. The plan lays out Haaland’s bold agenda to defend Medicaid from Trump’s cuts, fix our doctors and nurses shortage, lower costs, take healthcare back from corporations and make sure every New Mexican can get the care they need. During the press conference, Haaland announced moving forward on a pathway to a public option for healthcare, so that every New Mexican has access to see a doctor when they’re sick.
Haaland was joined by Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives Javier Martínez, Chair of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee Senator Linda Lopez, Child Psychiatry Fellow Dr. Danielle Rivera, and UNM Critical Care Nurse Jason Bloomer. The plan was made in collaboration with doctors, nurses, healthcare union representatives, public health professionals, and providers across the state.
READ MORE BELOW:
ABQ Journal: Haaland promises big changes to New Mexico’s health care system
Deb Haaland, one of two Democrats vying for the nomination in New Mexico’s gubernatorial race later this year, vowed to fix the state’s “broken” health care system at a news conference in Albuquerque on Tuesday.
“Health care is not a luxury. It is a right,” Haaland said.
Haaland said her plan to fix health care for New Mexicans includes protecting Medicaid, recruiting and retaining providers, bolstering rural health care, combating private equity, lowering prescription drug costs and expanding insurance coverage.
[…]
Source NM: NM governor candidate Haaland plans to ‘work toward’ public health care, fight Trump Medicaid cuts
[…]
New Mexico has the nation’s highest per-capita levels of Medicaid enrollment. Amid the Trump administration’s looming health care cuts, the state Legislature earlier this year passed a measure to put more money in the state’s Healthcare Affordability Fund.
“Short of a public option, Medicaid is the surest way at-risk communities can have health care, which is why we will work toward a public option if I’m elected,” Haaland said at a Tuesday news conference. “For those of us not on Medicaid but dependent on our insurance marketplace, I will continue to backfill the tax credits on insurance premiums that Trump cut and devote more resources to the Healthcare Affordability Fund.”
[…]
Santa Fe New Mexican: ‘Health care is next’: Haaland, New Mexico House speaker pitch public option
[…]
Haaland, who struggled with poverty as a young woman, recalled waiting for hours to see a doctor at the Indian Health Center in Albuquerque when her child was sick.
“I know what it’s like to face a medical bill you can’t pay,” she said, but added that thanks to federal programs and Planned Parenthood, “I had a safety net in place when I needed it most.”
“Health care is not a luxury; it is a right,” she said. “Without our health care, we have nothing. Without our health, we have nothing.”
Native News Online: How Tribes Could Expand Health Care Services Under Haaland’s ‘Public Option’ Pitch to New Mexico Voters
[…]
Haaland also pointed to new work requirements for Medicaid, which will roll out in January 2027 and is predicted to leave up to 10 million Americans without coverage. Enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes are exempt from the requirements, but a Brookings Institution report found there is no clear process for states to verify Tribal enrollment to ensure an individual qualifies for the exemption.
“I will also be sure that New Mexicans know how to apply for Medicaid,” Haaland said. “The federal government is hoping you won’t put in the work to get the coverage you need. So our state will hire a team to make sure you can navigate all of that red tape.”
[…]