New Mexico Medical Society Report #62020 Legislative Session
January 21 – February 20
Santa Fe, NM
Governor Lujan Grisham has until March 11 to sign all bills passed in the legislative session that ended Thursday, February 20th. If the Governor doesn't sign or reject a bill during this time, the bill does not pass, it is "pocket vetoed."
Included here is a summary of how the bills sponsored and/or supported by New Mexico Medical Society fared over the 30-day session (click to open)
Legislation adopted by the New Mexico Legislature:
HB 2, General Appropriation Act, NMMS supported more access to health coverage for families, with general fund appropriations to the Human Services Department topping $1.2 billion, (an almost 7% increase) for Medicaid medical inflation, increased use of services, and targeted Physician rate increases to offset 2016 rate reduction HB-02.
SB 1, Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Act, authorizing the state to pursue the importation of lower-cost wholesale prescription drugs from Canada, following federal guidelines set by CMS.
HB 292, Prescription Drug Cost Sharing, a measure to cap the cost of insulin co-pays at $25 per prescription per 30-day period and requiring a study of prescription drug costs, ensuring accessibility to prescription drugs.
HB 100, Health Insurance Exchange Changes, granting the NMHIE the authority it needs to increase affordability and access to health coverage through the exchange, provides for standardized health plans, will reduce the cost of health care and improve access to high-quality care for all New Mexicans.
HB 234, Revise Insurance Nominating Committee Duties, allows for an interim superintendent of insurance and revised the qualifications for superintendent to insurance to include out of state applicants. NMMS will work on further amendments this interim with OSI.
SB 131, Tobacco Products Act, created a framework for the licensing of tobacco retailers and increases the age to purchase tobacco to 21 in an effort to curb youth vaping and tobacco use. This bill makes New Mexico the first state to have a comprehensive regulatory act for e-cigarettes and e-liquids.
Other important legislation that were not adopted by the Legislature:
HB 282 and SB 227, Health Care Gross Receipts Providers, were designed to fix the drafting error that arose with respect to deductions for Medicare and managed care and insurance receipts after the passage of SB6 in 2016. A local corporate physician group applied for a refund for an overpayment of gross receipts tax resulting from its prior failure to claim a deduction for receipts from services provided to patients covered by health insurance contracts. The Department of Taxation and Revenue’s legal counsel (an assistant attorney general) denied the claim determining that corporate groups did not qualify for the deduction. The Department’s decision was contrary to its own published guidance and (arguably) a Department regulation. In response to that decision, at NMMS’ request, Senator James Neville and Representative Jim Trujillo each introduced legislation to fix the problem created by the Department's new interpretation of the law.
After introduction of the legislation, two important events occurred. First, after discussions with the Department's chief counsel, the Department reversed its position and determined that the corporate practice did qualify for the deduction. Second, as the two bills progressed through senate and house committees virtually without objection, a medical practice group expressed concerns that the language of the bill would keep it from claiming the deduction and asked that the bill be amended. The Medical Society took no position on the amendment but did work with the group to ensure that any changes would not adversely affect other NMMS members.
Unfortunately, the language of the amendment raised questions about the fiscal impact of the bill and the governor’s office instructed NMMS to pull the bill and work with the Department to sort through issues created by the proposed amendment. The governor’s office assured NMMS that the Department would follow the current published interpretation of the statutes until a legislative fix is agreed upon, passed and signed into law.
HB 159 and SB 58, Medical Students for Underserved Communities, NMMS worked to include $250,000 in HB 2 for this important program however it was not adopted among the 600 amendments to HB 02.
HB 246, Medical School Scholarship Act, requested $5.5M to allow for free tuition for medical school at the University of New Mexico to address the physician shortage in New Mexico. HB 2 appropriated $200,000 for the program.
To find other bills, go to https://www.nmlegis.gov/
Thank you for supporting efforts in Santa Fe as NMMS works on behalf of physicians throughout the state.
**********
