April
5, 2001
SENATE EXECUTIVE MESSAGE NO. 60
The Honorable Richard Romero and
Members of the Senate
Executive-Legislative Building
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503
Honorable President and Members of the Senate:
I have this day VETOED and am returning CORPORATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL 413, as amended, enacted by the Forty-Fifth Legislature, First Session, 2001.
This
bill would require group health care coverage of unmarried dependants until the
age of twenty-five. It would help address the problem of young adults who
cannot afford or obtain health insurance coverage and seems like a step in the
right direction. However, as currently written, this legislation relates to any
group health care coverage and does not specifically exclude Medicaid. The New
Mexico Salud! Medicaid managed care program is a model of efficiency that
maintains responsible cost restraints, while delivering superior health care
services. Presently, Salud! does not cover young adults until their twenty-fifth
birthday, and to do so would cost the state millions of additional dollars and
require an expansion of staff and administration that is unthinkable. New
Mexicans have come to expect an extremely high level of health care services
because Salud! operates so efficiently and effectively. It does not make sense
to put services, vital to so many, in jeopardy. A more tailored piece of
legislation that addresses this problem but specifically excludes Medicaid
would be more acceptable for all New Mexicans.
Sincerely,
Gary E. Johnson
Governor
RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR:
Time: _____________________
By:_____________________________
Secretary of State
Date ______________________
Time:______________________
Date_______________________
By:_____________________________
Chief Clerk of the Senate
Sem60sb413v