HOUSE MEMORIAL 66

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Deborah A. Armstrong and Kelly K. Fajardo

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION ON DISABILITY TO CONVENE A STUDY OF THE FEASIBILITY OF REQUIRING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HEALTH COVERAGE FOR BRAIN INJURY SERVICES AND SUPPORTS.

     WHEREAS, the federal agency for healthcare research and quality reports that approximately two million children, youth, adults and elders are treated in emergency rooms every year for brain injuries, including acquired brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, anoxic or hypoxic brain injuries, neurotoxic brain injuries and ischemic brain injuries, among others; and

     WHEREAS, more than three hundred thirty thousand children and youth sustain sports-related concussions, which are a type of brain injury, every year; and

     WHEREAS, more than one million people a year sustain brain injuries from various other causes such as heart attacks, tumors and seizure disorders; and

     WHEREAS, brain injury is considered the leading cause of death and disability in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, brain injury often leads to dementia or other chronic diseases; and

     WHEREAS, in rural, frontier and most urban settings in New Mexico, there exists little or no capacity to treat people living with brain injury, either initially or on a long-term basis, with the integrated services required; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico needs to break the cycle of violence, poverty, incarceration, dependence upon the state, institutional care, isolation, overburdened support systems, substandard living conditions and homelessness that has too often been the fate of individuals living with brain injury and that of their families; and

     WHEREAS, currently, health coverage laws in New Mexico do not require the provision of adequate supports and services for individuals living with brain injury; and

     WHEREAS, providing adequate brain injury supports and services coverage creates new business opportunities and jobs and lets individuals living with brain injuries remain in the state rather than being forced to seek care out of state; and

     WHEREAS, a significant number of states have developed health coverage legislation or billing codes for proper treatment and coverage for brain injury supports and services without significantly raising premium rates for the general public; and

     WHEREAS, health coverage for brain injury supports and services and well-tested, enhanced treatments improve outcomes for individuals living with brain injury by decreasing their disability levels and by increasing their level of independence, restoring these individuals to their families, communities and professional lives;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor's commission on disability be requested to conduct a study of the feasibility of establishing requirements for health insurance coverage to provide a continuum of health care, therapeutic services and job development services that individuals living with brain injury and related conditions require for recovery and maximum independence; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor's commission on disability consult with representatives of the office of superintendent of insurance, the human services department, the risk management division of the general services department, the retiree health care authority, the public school insurance authority, the Albuquerque public school district and the United States department of health and human services in examining the feasibility of including health coverage benefits to enhance the quality of life for individuals living with brain injury and their families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor's commission on disability be requested to report findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee and the legislative finance committee by November 1, 2016; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the chair of the governor's commission on disability, the chair and vice chair of the legislative health and human services committee, the chair and vice chair of the legislative finance committee, the superintendent of insurance, the director of the risk management division of the general services department, the director of the retiree health care authority, the director of the public school insurance authority and the acting superintendent of the Albuquerque public school district.

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