New Mexico Medicaid system will be expanded to accommodate more people
Last week, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez announced the state’s commitment to expanding its Medicaid program in a move to better align the state with the Affordable Care Act. Per the federal law, states have the option to expand their Medicaid programs in order to make them more accessible to a wider range of people. New Mexico is keen to address some of the issues concerning the lack of health insurance coverage among low-income individuals and families by ensuring that the New Mexico Medicaid system is made more accommodating.
170,000 people will gain access to insurance through Medicaid expansion
The expansion of the New Mexico Medicaid program will bring access to health insurance to some 170,000 people living in the state. While expanded access to health insurance may be good news for consumers, it may also bring significant benefits to the state itself. State officials expects that the expanded New Mexico Medicaid system will bring in billions of dollars worth of revenue to the state. The Governor has expressed commitment in using these funds to improve various aspects of the state.
State to pursue its own insurance exchange
The New Mexico Medicaid system is not the only move Governor Martinez has made recently. The Governor has also announced that the state would be pursuing the development of its own health insurance exchange. The exchange will be run by the state and is expected to bring affordable access to health insurance policies to more than 200,000 people. There is a problem with the state’s exchange, however, that could threaten its compliance with federal law even before it takes form.
New Mexico exchange may run afoul of federal law
The New Mexico health insurance exchange may not be in place yet, but its board of directors is. Currently, there are no state laws that prohibit members of the board from profiting from the insurance exchange. The problem is that the board is primarily comprised of executives from large insurance companies. Indeed, there are so many insurance executives involved in the board that, at this time, the exchange violates federal law. New Mexico will have to change this in order to ensure that its exchange system complies with the Affordable Care Act.
