HOUSE MEMORIAL 36

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2022

INTRODUCED BY

Roger E. Montoya

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE TO HOLD A HEARING ON HOSPITAL CHARGES FOR NEW MEXICO'S UNINSURED PATIENTS AND FOR THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO REPORT ON NEW MEXICO HOSPITALS' USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND PROVISIONS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR UNINSURED PATIENTS.

 

     WHEREAS, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has demonstrated that every person should be able to access health care when it is needed and that an inability to access health care threatens the health of not only the individual but also the community at large; and

     WHEREAS, access to affordable, quality health insurance is critical to ensuring that patients can receive necessary medical treatment and health care; and

     WHEREAS, two hundred fourteen thousand New Mexico residents did not have health insurance in 2020, according to statistics from the urban institute; and

     WHEREAS, according to the asset funders network, nearly one in four New Mexico residents have medical debt in collections; and

     WHEREAS, the Kaiser family foundation and the New York Times found that patients with medical debt are nearly three times more likely to postpone necessary health care; and

     WHEREAS, when patients postpone necessary health care, their medical conditions may worsen, become more expensive to treat and require the use of more hospital and public resources; and

     WHEREAS, according to the most recent available estimate, New Mexico's nonprofit hospitals realized approximately fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000) in tax benefits in 2011, which accounts for their federal, state and local tax exemptions, charitable contributions and tax-exempt bond financing; and

     WHEREAS, many New Mexico hospitals receive public funds from state and federal governments, including from the safety net care pool, federal disproportionate share hospital funds and county indigent funds to provide financial assistance to low-income or uninsured patients; and

     WHEREAS, the legislative finance committee reported that in 2015, New Mexico hospitals submitted applications for more than one hundred twenty-two million dollars ($122,000,000) in uncompensated care reimbursement and received nearly thirty-two million dollars ($32,000,000) in federal disproportionate share hospital funds and that New Mexico counties spent nearly sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) on uncompensated care through their county indigent funds; and

     WHEREAS, notwithstanding their receipt of public funds for the care of uninsured or low-income patients, many New Mexico hospitals still sue thousands of patients each year and pursue other aggressive collection actions to collect on medical debt; and

     WHEREAS, reports filed with the federal internal revenue service in 2019 show that on average, over thirty-five percent of New Mexico nonprofit hospitals' bad debt is attributed to patients who are low-income and would likely qualify for financial assistance, with some hospitals reporting that up to two-thirds of their bad debt can be attributed to patients who would likely qualify for financial assistance; and

     WHEREAS, the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act requires all New Mexico hospitals to report to the human services department the amount of their bad debt that is attributable to patients who would likely qualify for financial assistance; and

     WHEREAS, the Patients' Debt Collection Protection Act requires all New Mexico hospitals to report to the human services department how they use safety net care pool funds, county indigent funds and funds raised to pay for the cost of operation and maintenance of county hospitals and the number of low-income patients whose health care costs are supported with these funds;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative health and human services committee be requested to hold a hearing concerning hospital charges for services provided to uninsured New Mexico patients and that the human services department be requested to report to the legislative health and human services committee the following information for each non-federal acute care or critical access hospital in New Mexico:

          A. state and federal funding received by the hospital for the care of uninsured and low-income patients; and

          B. the percentage of the hospital's bad debt expense attributable to patients who would likely qualify for its financial assistance policy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the human services department be requested to collect the above information from each non-federal acute care or critical access hospital in New Mexico and report the collected information to the legislative health and human services committee by July 1, 2022; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative health and human services committee be requested to hold a hearing concerning hospital charges for services provided to uninsured New Mexico patients by August 1, 2022, and to seek testimony from the department of health, the human services department, health care providers, hospital representatives, consumer advocacy groups and other stakeholders; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health, the secretary of human services and the chair and vice chair of the legislative health and human services committee.

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