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

SPONSOR Rodriguez

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2-6-06

HB

SHORT TITLE UNM Hepatitis C ECHO Program

SB 378

ANALYST Collard

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$2,000.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY06

FY07

FY08 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$143.0 $143.0

$286.0 Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 378 appropriates $2 million from the general fund to DOH for the purpose of funding

the hepatitis C Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) program at the University of

New Mexico (UNM).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $2 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY07 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

Senate Bill 378 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DOH indicates New Mexico ranks first in the nation for its death rate due to chronic liver disease

and cirrhosis, which is often the result of chronic hepatitis C infection. Conservative estimates

suggest that as many as 32,000 people in the state are infected with hepatitis C, but recent data

analysis from the Epidemiology and Response Division suggests that the figure could be signifi-

cantly higher.

ECHO directs telehealth clinical consultation to rural primary care centers enabling them to pro-

vide hepatitis C disease management and treatment to uninsured persons in their home communi-

ties. This expands access to services beyond the urban center of Albuquerque and that of the in-

sured population.

The expanded support proposed by this bill for ECHO would increase the number of rural pri-

mary care providers trained to provide hepatitis C chronic disease management and to oversee

the treatment of uninsured patients.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

DOH indicates adequate monitoring and evaluation of the project would require one additional

FTE plus one FTE for the surveillance team to monitor current cases plus new hepatitis C pa-

tients that are identified through the ECHO Program. Costs necessary for this program expan-

sion would include $60 thousand average per FTE (2 FTE) for a total of approximately $120

thousand, plus $23 thousand for office and storage space, computers, software licensing, etc.

RELATIONSHIP

The General Appropriation Act of 2006, as adopted by the House Appropriations and Finance

Committee, includes $1.1 million for the ECHO project at UNM.

KBC/mt