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

SPONSOR Garcia, M.H.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/3/06

HB 666

SHORT TITLE Dona Ana Indigent Women Perinatal Care

SB

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

FY06

FY07

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

1,000.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to HB 125 (Pre- & Postnatal Care To First-Time Parents).

Relates to SB 77 (Dona Ana Uncompensated Perinatal Care).

Relates to SB 193 (Dona Ana County Indigent Prenatal Care).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 666 appropriates $1,000,000 from the general fund to the Department of Health to

support perinatal health care in Dona Ana County.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1,000,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert

to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the Department of Health (DOH), perinatal services include care before and after

birth. An estimated 19.1% of mothers who had a live birth in Dona Ana County in 2004 had low

House Bill 666 – Page

2

or no prenatal care (i.e. less than 5 prenatal visits during pregnancy). Inadequate prenatal care

has been linked with increased risk for poor health of the infant, including low birth weight and

prematurity, infant mortality, as well as maternal mortality.

DOH also notes that, from 2001 to 2003, rates of birth to teen mothers were higher in Dona Ana

County than in New Mexico as a whole. The percentage of births to teen mothers remained

steady at 19.3 percent, but the percent of births to single mothers increased to 52.2 percent.

The appropriation in HB 666 is not, however, part of the DOH executive budget request.

The Health Policy Commission (HPC) cites statistics from a variety of sources showing that:

28.1% of women in New Mexico are uninsured; and that

between 1992 and 2002, the rate of preterm infants in New Mexico increased nearly 19%.

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