More than 100,000 New Mexicans have filed for unemployment since COVID-19 restrictions began. With the loss of their jobs, many also lost their health insurance. There is a growing realization that those with employer coverage simply cannot count on it. Under our current system, there is no health security.
The current pandemic has made it clear that we must implement a health insurance system that is not tied to employment and that provides coverage for all New Mexicans. A priority area of the New Mexico Public Health Association is Universal Access to Health Care, in which every person in New Mexico is entitled to quality, comprehensive health care as a human right, regardless of income, geographic location, or immigration status.
As such, the Association supports and endorses the proposed New Mexico Health Security Act, which would ensure all New Mexicans have comprehensive health care coverage by setting up a statewide plan with freedom of choice of providers, comprehensive benefits, and premiums based on income (with caps). With Health Security, if you lose your job or change jobs, your health coverage stays with you.
While public health measures like social distancing are working to flatten the curve in New Mexico, there is no set timeline for when we can “return to normal.” What has become clear, however, is that our health is closely intertwined with that of our neighbors. We are all safer when all New Mexicans have affordable access to comprehensive health care.
This pandemic has underscored the shortcomings of the private insurance system, and of tying insurance to employment. These are systemic problems, and the best way to address them is by enacting a systemic solution that ensures true health security. The Association calls upon the state legislature to prioritize passage of the NM Health Security Act in 2021.
Dana Millen
Albuquerque
Troy Weeldreyer
Albuquerque
(Millen is an Association board member and serves as the education and outreach coordinator for the Health Security for New Mexico Campaign. Weeldreyer is an Association board member who works in mental health.)