RIO RANCHO — As she cast her ballot at the Sandoval County Administration Building on a recent day, Jamilla El-Shafei had one issue at the top of her mind: healthcare.
The 73-year-old retiree, a lifelong Democrat, argued New Mexico should do more to recruit doctors and ensure patients have access to timely care.
“In some cases, I’ve had to wait over a year for doctors’ appointments with the various specialties that I go to,” El-Shafei said. “So, healthcare is No. 1 for me.”
She’s not alone. As New Mexico residents endure long trips to the doctor’s office, rising health insurance premiums and shrinking care options, healthcare access and affordability have become central issues — and a surprising point of consensus — ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Though the healthcare policy plans of New Mexico’s gubernatorial hopefuls differ in some ways, both candidates — Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull — have committed to lowering costs, growing the healthcare workforce and safeguarding rural hospitals and clinics.
For the New Mexico Legislature — which will return to the Roundhouse in January under the leadership of the new governor — that means more work is ahead to accomplish those goals, said House Speaker Javier Martínez, an Albuquerque Democrat.
“Really, where we want to get to is a system that is affordable, high quality and fully accessible to every New Mexican from urban settings to rural New Mexico,” he said in an interview. “That is the system we’re going to build over the next couple of legislative sessions, and I hope that the Republican Party is able and willing to put in the hard work to deliver affordable healthcare for people.”
Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, a Republican from Farmington, argued his party, too, is “trying to protect healthcare for people,” with a focus on proposals aimed at recruiting and retaining healthcare providers.
“If you don’t have any doctors, you still won’t have any healthcare — period. And that’s where they are now: They’re running off doctors. I think that’s the problem,” Sharer said.
Haaland and Hull’s priorities
Almost everybody can agree on the problem.
“We have one of the worst physician shortages in the country, and especially for families in Tribal and rural communities, that can mean waiting months for an appointment or driving hours to see a specialist,” Haaland wrote in her “Prescription for a Healthier New Mexico,” in which she lays out her healthcare policy priorities.
“Families should not have to drive hours to see a doctor or wait months for basic care,” Hull wrote in response to a questionnaire from The New Mexican. His own policy plan envisions “access, affordability, and accountability for every New Mexican.”
The two gubernatorial candidates are aligned in a few key healthcare policy priorities, like making insurance reimbursement rates more competitive, ensuring rural hospitals can keep their doors open and joining more interstate healthcare compacts to expand the pool of providers able to practice in New Mexico.
Of course, they differ, too. Hull has promised to keep reforming the state’s medical malpractice laws. That would build on House Bill 99, a bill passed earlier this year to limit punitive damages in medical malpractice cases in hopes of driving down the cost of medical malpractice insurance for providers.
Haaland’s policy plan emphasized the importance of protecting New Mexicans from impending cuts to Medicaid. The state Health Care Authority, which administers Medicaid in New Mexico, has estimated some 89,000 residents will lose coverage as a result of recent federal policy changes.
‘Throw everything at the wall’
Newly elected Senate Majority Leader Linda Trujillo, a Santa Fe Democrat, acknowledged there are “some similarities” between Democrats and Republicans on healthcare access and affordability.
“What I see as differences is in how we implement those goals, right? … As they say, the devil’s in the details. It’s going to come down to: What’s the best way to implement that, and who do we turn to to get that information?” Trujillo said in an interview.
Healthcare policy priorities for the 2027 legislative session are starting to coalesce for both Democrats and Republicans.
Martínez and Trujillo said the majority party will continue to focus on incentives to recruit doctors to the state, building on a major expansion earlier this year to the state’s highly competitive student loan relief program for healthcare providers.
The state also will consider ways to keep backfilling Medicaid cuts and subsidize rural healthcare providers, Trujillo said.
“We’ve got to throw everything at the wall and figure out what’s going to work. We have to be willing to consider all kinds of solutions for increasing that access,” Trujillo said.
House Democrats unveiled a proposal Friday to relieve New Mexicans’ medical debt by appropriating $2 million over three years in a partnership with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, which would identify and purchase qualifying debt at a fraction of its face value.
The program could eliminate more than $200 million in medical debt for about 100,000 to 160,000 New Mexicans, according to a news release, which noted other states such as Arizona and Illinois have eliminated billions of dollars in debt through similar programs.
“Every New Mexican deserves the chance to recover from an illness or injury without carrying the burden of unmanageable medical debt for years afterward,” Martínez said in a statement. “This proposal could bring relief to families, create financial breathing room for New Mexicans who are struggling, and remind people they are not on their own when hardship hits.”
Meanwhile, Sharer said interstate licensure compacts and medical malpractice are at the top of his mind. Lawmakers earlier this year passed compacts making it easier for doctors and social workers from other states to practice in New Mexico.
That could be a point of agreement, too. Trujillo said she’d like to see the state join three more compacts, covering psychologists, physical therapists and emergency medical services personnel.
Sharer promised Republicans will also fight to defend hard-won medical malpractice reforms passed earlier this year.
Martínez said he welcomes Republicans’ efforts on healthcare access and affordability issues: “Welcome to the party.”
“The fact that Republicans are talking about healthcare affordability is music to my ears, and my door is always open to hear their ideas,” he said.
Staff writers Clara Bates and Lily Alexander contributed to this report.
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.
