HOUSE MEMORIAL 39

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Nathan P. Small

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PRIMARY CARE TASK FORCE TO DEFINE PRIMARY CARE AND ANALYZE NEW MEXICO'S MEDICAID EXPENDITURES CURRENTLY ALLOCATED TO PRIMARY CARE.

 

     WHEREAS, primary care is an essential component of New Mexico's health care system and the initial point of contact for most patient entry into the health care delivery system; and

     WHEREAS, primary care practitioners and the primary care system are critical to health care network accessibility, service delivery and system efficiency; and

     WHEREAS, primary care is the provision of integrated, equitable and accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients and practicing in the context of family and community; and

     WHEREAS, primary care includes health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education and diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses provided by a wide variety of health care practitioners in a wide variety of health care settings; and

     WHEREAS, a shared definition of primary care has not yet been adopted by the state; and

     WHEREAS, primary care has been demonstrated to be associated with increased access to health care services, improved health outcomes, reduced mortality and decreased hospitalization and use of the emergency department; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico has long had a shortage of primary care services, especially in rural and frontier areas; and

     WHEREAS, twenty-nine other states have adopted policies, systems and models to enhance primary care access, financing, coordination and service delivery pursuant to the recommendations of various state-initiated collaborative efforts; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico lacks a comprehensive system to monitor the allocation of health care expenditures across different types of health care services, including primary care; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico is developing more robust systems for the compilation and exchange of health systems data, and these data can be utilized to inform public policy and gauge the impact of public policies; and

     WHEREAS, an analysis of the portion of medicaid expenditures devoted to primary care would help inform the current understanding of the needs of primary care in New Mexico to be applied to the shortage of access and resources for primary care;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of human services be requested to establish an interdisciplinary primary care task force to adopt a shared definition of primary care and to analyze the share of New Mexico's medicaid expenditures currently allocated to primary care; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of human services be requested to include the following participants in the interdisciplinary primary care task force:

          A. representatives from the university of New Mexico school of medicine's department of family and community medicine;

          B. representatives of the department of health;

          C. representatives of the human services department;

          D. representatives of the aging and long-term services department; and

          E. up to eight additional members whose organizations provide comprehensive continuity of care for patients; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interdisciplinary primary care task force be requested to report its findings to the governor and the interim legislative health and human services committee by November 1, 2020; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the chair of the legislative health and human services committee, the secretary of human services, the secretary of health, the secretary of aging and long-term services and the chair of the university of New Mexico school of medicine's department of family and community medicine.

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