By ANNIE JUNG
Executive Director
New Mexico Medical Society

If you have ever waited six weeks to see a specialist, driven an hour each way to find a doctor who takes your insurance, or been told your community clinic is closing, you already understand the stakes of physician recruitment and retention. It is not an abstract policy debate. It is your health, and your family’s health, on the line. New Mexico has faced a physician shortage for years — and this session, our state took the most significant action in a generation to fix it.

A Landmark Fix to Medical Malpractice: HB 99

No single issue has driven more physicians out of New Mexico — or discouraged more from coming — than our medical malpractice environment. For years, the liability climate here was among the most hostile in the country. Punitive damages were being sought in roughly 92% of malpractice cases, creating enormous uncertainty for physicians, independent practices, and the hospitals that anchor care in our communities. Good doctors were leaving. Others simply would not come.

Against all odds, this year the Legislature passed House Bill 99. This was possible only because of the Governor’s support and prioritization of physicians and their patients.

Before this law, physicians practiced under constant threat of outsized lawsuits — cases that sought not just compensation for harm, but additional punishment-based damages that bore little relationship to what actually happened in the exam room. HB 99 changes the rules. Lawsuit damages are now more tightly tied to actual costs and real harm.

Hospitals are permanently protected within the state’s malpractice fund. The result is a state where physicians can focus on caring for patients rather than practicing defensively.

Building a State Where Physicians Can Thrive

HB 99 was the centerpiece, but the New Mexico Medical Society has spent years working alongside legislators to address nearly every barrier making our state a difficult place to practice. We tackled the basic economics: doctors treating Medicaid patients — roughly two of five New Mexicans — were often paid less than it cost to deliver care.

We fixed that. Physicians were being taxed on money collected on behalf of insurers. We eliminated that tax. New tax credits make New Mexico more competitive with neighboring states for physician recruitment.

We cut red tape. Insurance credentialing that once took months now takes thirty days. Physicians licensed in other states can begin practicing here far more quickly than before. And we invested in the pipeline — securing over $100 million in loan repayment funding over five years, with awards up to $300,000 over four years, now available to specialists for the first time. For a young physician carrying $250,000 in medical school debt, that changes the calculus of where to build a career.

What This Means for Patients

The initiatives over the last six years have focused on one thing, timely access to quality medical care. Increased access is achieved by having more physicians. More physicians choosing to come to — and stay in — New Mexico means shorter wait times. It means rural communities that have gone without a family doctor finally getting one. It means patients with chronic conditions having a consistent provider who knows their history. It means expectant mothers in underserved areas having access to OB care. The person who no longer has to drive an hour for a routine appointment, or wait six weeks to see a specialist, is exactly who this work was for.

Next Steps

The historic policy changes achieved will allow an environment conducive to health care. The time is now to get the word out to our fine physicians that they are wanted, needed, and honored by New Mexicans. And the time is now to extend serious invitations to physicians across the country that they will be welcomed by patients and lawmakers alike to make their homes and establish their professional practices in our beautiful and grateful state.

Physician access is not a luxury. It is infrastructure — as essential to a community as roads and schools. New Mexico made that investment. And every patient who gets the care they need, close to home, will be proof that it was worth it.