NM House Committee Kills Health Insurance Exchange Bill

Yesterday in the New Mexico House Appropriations and Finance Committee (HAFC), a bill that would initiate the early stages of creating a health insurance exchange was killed by an 8-5 vote. The combined Senate Bill 38/370, sponsored by Senators Dede Feldman (D-Bernalillo-13) and George Munoz (D-Cibola, McKinley-4), is a response to the federal health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The measure previously gained passage in the Senate by a vote of 36-3 and a Do Pass in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee (HCPAC) by a 3-2 margin.

That act allows each state to create a state-specific health insurance exchange designed to increase access to affordable health insurance for individuals and small groups and lower the high percentage of uninsured citizens.

“This bill is essential for the future of health care in New Mexico,” said Sen. Munoz. “The exchange would act as a marketplace of insurance plans where consumers could compare various rates and coverage plans in a simplified fashion and where subsidies would be available to assist low-income individuals with premium costs,” he said. "Additionally, establishment of a New Mexico exchange would bring millions of dollars in federal funds toward the state."

"The failure to enact legislation will result in a mandated health care exchange created by the federal government rather than by New Mexico," Sen. Munoz continued. "It is essential that New Mexico create its own exchange as we can more effectively anticipate the health care needs specific to our state and its people. Legislative time is running low for the state to begin the process of creating an exchange by the 2014 deadline. Failing to act would result in the loss of the federal funds used to incentivize this new health care design."

Sen. Munoz added that, "Legislators and health care professionals have been working hard over the past few years to design a plan that is right for New Mexico. We don't want to open the door to a federally created health care exchange when we have the option and the localized knowledge to create one of our own.”