Medicaid customers, keep an eye on your mailboxes.
The New Mexico Health Care Authority is warning residents who qualify for assistance programs to watch out for communication from the agency as federal policy changes to Medicaid go into effect.
The changes are the result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive Republican tax and spending bill signed into law last year that will slash taxes and discretionary spending through 2034, with cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program among its central cost-saving efforts. The state Health Care Authority, which administers both programs in the state, has estimated the cuts will kick 88,000 off Medicaid and 58,000 off SNAP.
The Health Care Authority will start sending out letters this week to more than 230,000 Medicaid customers in the state who will have to comply with new work and activity requirements starting Jan. 1. Work requirements for SNAP went into effect in January.
Receiving a turquoise envelope from the Health Care Authority means the agency needs information from you in order to keep you enrolled in Medicaid or SNAP, Health Care Authority Cabinet Secretary Kari Armijo said Monday during a news conference.
“We know these changes are complicated,” she said. “Our job at the Health Care Authority is to make it as easy as possible for customers to understand how these changes will affect them and what they need to do to keep their benefits.”
Starting in January, Medicaid customers ages 19 to 64 will have to complete 80 hours of work, school or volunteering per month and regularly report those activities to the Health Care Authority to maintain their benefits. The agency has estimated about 89,000 of New Mexico’s 825,287 Medicaid customers will lose coverage as a result of the new work and community engagement rules.
The majority — 70% — of New Mexico adults on Medicaid were already working full- or part-time, according to data published in May 2025 by the health research and policy organization KFF.
A few groups are carved out as exempt from the work and community engagement requirements, including pregnant and postpartum women, disabled veterans, Native Americans and caregivers of children under 14, among some others.
The Health Care Authority’s turquoise envelope, then, will alert Medicaid customers that they’ll have to report work or community engagement hours to the agency or qualify for an exemption, said Acting Medicaid Director Alanna Dancis.
“Receiving this notice does not mean a member will lose Medicaid automatically. Some Medicaid members may qualify for exceptions,” she said.
Two other changes will also go into effect in January, Dancis added. First, Medicaid customers subject to work or community engagement requirements will have to renew their coverage every six months, rather than every 12 months. The agency projects that could result in about 101,760 Medicaid enrollees losing coverage for at least two months because of more frequent eligibility checks.
Second, federal rules will reduce retroactive Medicaid coverage for past medical bills from three months to one month for some adults ages 19 to 64 and two months for seniors and people with disabilities.
Work and activity requirements already went into effect for the SNAP program. Starting Jan. 1, 55,000 New Mexicans were required to complete 80 hours of work, education or community service to keep their federal food benefits. Armijo said about 1,900 New Mexicans have lost coverage as a direct result of those requirements.
The letters aren’t the only way the Health Care Authority is planning to get in touch with Medicaid customers regarding these changes. Armijo said Medicaid customers can expect to receive texts and emails, too, plus an outreach campaign with ads on billboards, public transit and social media platforms.
“No matter where someone sees or hears the information, the message will be consistent: Understand how these federal rules apply to you. Take any steps you need to take your to keep your benefits. And know that we are here to help,” Armijo said.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
