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

SPONSOR Campos

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

02/02/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Luna College Dental Hygienist Program

SB 691

ANALYST Williams

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

$100.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to new initiative of $400.0 thousand in LFC budget recommendation for dental hygiene

HED notes executive supports $1 million for start-up costs for dental hygiene programs across

the state

Also SB 180 and SB 264

Also SB 83 and HB 172

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Higher Education Department (HED)

Department of Health (DOH)

Health Policy Commission (HPC)

New Mexico Dental Association (NMDA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 691 appropriates $100 thousand from the general fund to the Higher Education De-

partment for start up funding for a dental hygiene program at Luna Community College.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $100 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall

revert to the general fund.

Senate Bill 691 – Page

2

In its budget request to the HED, Luna Community College did not submit requests for expan-

sions or for new initiatives for dental hygiene.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

HED notes anticipated start-up costs for a dental hygienist program at Luna Community College

are $100,000 for program and $20,000 for capital outlay.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The bill does not specifically place an emphasis on linking the initiative to the state’s strategic

plans for health, economic development or higher education and does not address performance

accountability components, such as outcomes-oriented performance measures.

However, per the New Mexico Dental Association, “DOH has indicated these bills are consistent

with the DOH strategic plan Program Area 9, strategic direction: Objective 3: “increase the

health workforce supply in collaboration with other entities in New Mexico”.

These programs will educate hygienists for high paying jobs throughout the State, help attract

dentists to rural areas, and help improve oral health and prevention in schools with the Gover-

nor’s School Based Health Program, nursing homes, and communities --- therefore improving

the health and economic development of the State.”

HED includes the suggestion of a performance measure related to program graduates finding

employment in New Mexico. DOH notes approximately 25% of New Mexico adults age 65 or

older have lost all their natural teeth, compared to the national target recommended by Healthy

People 2010 to have no more than 20 percent of this group having lost their natural teeth.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

HED notes in New Mexico, nearly 1/3 of the 1,074 licensed dentists have out-of-state addresses

or are over age 65. Further, New Mexico ranks 49

th

among states in the number of dentists per

1,000 people. HED notes the potential for “over saturation of the market” in rural areas.

HPC estimates New Mexico needs 228 new hygienists per year to meet the national guidelines of

1 hygienist to 2000 population.

Also, New Mexico counties designated as oral health professional shortage areas: 30 of 33 coun-

ties.

HPC notes most of the hygienist positions in southern and southeastern New Mexico are being

taken by graduates of El Paso Community College and Amarillo Community College because

the pay is higher in New Mexico due to the shortage. These hygienists are not typically anesthe-

sia certified, so they cannot be fully utilized in New Mexico.

Existing dental hygienist programs are:

•

University of New Mexico, which accepts 24 students per year, and

•

San Juan Community College, which accepts 12 students per year.

Senate Bill 691 – Page

3

Existing dental assistance programs are at:

•

Eastern New Mexico University, Roswell

•

University of New Mexico, Gallup

•

Albuquerque TVI (received preliminary provisional approval)

•

Santa Fe Community College (received preliminary provisional approval)

New Mexico statute required a licensed dental hygienist practice under the supervision of a li-

censed dentist.

ALTERNATIVES

Laws of 1993, Chapter 389 (Senate Bill 370) established the higher education program develop-

ment enhancement fund to address critical state issues, including work force and professional

training, instructional program enhancements and development of mission-specific instructional

programs. This program development enhancement fund is intended to provide a planning and

prioritization framework as well as start-up funding for type of initiative.

Higher education institutions receive indirect cost revenues from federal contracts and grants.

Further, this money is unrestricted in the sense that the governing board of the institution has the

flexibility to choose which projects are supported with these funds One of the purposes of re-

taining these funds is to provide seed money and matching funds for projects such as those pro-

posed in this bill.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

How many dental hygienists would enter the New Mexico labor market per year as a re-

sult of this funding proposal.

2.

What performance accountability would be required.

AW/nt