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UNM hosts health care summit

Richardson announces plans to expand Medicaid enrollment

by Christopher Sanchez

Daily Lobo

New Mexico physicians are confronted with the dilemma every day - turning away the uninsured, said Peggy Roberts, a UNM alumna and family practice physician.

"They don't come in until their diabetes are so bad, they've lost 30 pounds," Roberts said. "They don't come in early because they don't have access to primary care."

Roberts was one of 250 community members, state and University leaders at the Governor's Health Care Summit on Monday in the SUB.

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The summit was held to address problems with the New Mexico health care system, including a large number of uninsured and underinsured.

According to the New Mexico Health Policy Commission, the rate of uninsured people has increased from 20.7 percent to 22.1 percent in 2003.

According to a UNM Health Sciences Center pamphlet, 57 percent of patients who go to the emergency room at UNM Hospital are uninsured. It becomes a problem, because many uninsured people cannot pay for their medical bills - therefore, the University is not compensated for its services.

In fiscal year 2005, the University reported $131.3 million in uncompensated care. A Bernalillo County mil levy covered only $83.1 million of the costs.

Paul Roth, dean of the UNM School of Medicine, said if no solution is found for the problem, the University will have to cut programs in order to pay physicians.

"The Health Sciences Center will be in a huge crisis situation," he said. "It could result in removal of clinical services and programs, which would be extraordinarily painful for the rest of the community."

Gov. Bill Richardson called for the summit in response to advocacy groups in the community questioning policies implemented by the UNM Hospital, Roth said.

Roth said some of the issues include not having an adequate amount of interpretive services available to bilingual patients, and policies requiring an amount of money be paid up front in order to have certain procedures executed.

Richardson attended the summit and announced his plans to increase the enrollment for Medicaid from six months to 12 months.

"This is going to keep children continuously insured longer," he said.

Medicaid is a program funded by the federal government that provides health care to low-income individuals.

Richardson said 13 percent of children under age 5 in New Mexico are uninsured.

The summit is critical to the University and the state of New Mexico, Richardson said.

"The University has been very effectively handling indigenous care, but it needs more funding," Richardson said. "The question is: Where do we find that?"

The state and federal government, along with the business community, need to help more, Richardson said, and the federal government is not doing much.

"We have to find the solution on our own that involves more fiscal responsibility and better managing, but also more resources," he said. "The state needs to step up and help, and the county, too. We're not going to do it all."

Jamie Koch, president of the UNM Board of Regents and an organizer of the summit, said he was excited about the governor's announcement.

"I don't think it would have happened if we wouldn't of had this," he said. "I was tickled."

The change of the state's Medicaid policy would allow low-income families to stay on the program, said Andrea Plaza, member of Community Coalition for Health Care Access.

However, Medicaid should also be reformed to allow children who were not born in the United States to receive federally funded health care, she said.

"If they are not born in this country, they are not qualified for the program," Plaza said. "Also, there are no Medicaid programs for adults. We want everyone covered."

Plaza said there needs to be more steps taken after the summit.

"If it's going to stop today, then there is no point to do it - it's just a performance act," she said.

Koch said the summit was successful, and there will be a meeting to address the public in the future.

"We brought a lot of people together with a lot of different issues," he said. "It went as well as you could have expected."

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