From Think New Mexico:

The special session concluded yesterday afternoon, and we wanted to share a quick recap and next steps.

We want to begin by celebrating the growing coalition of 47 partners that have joined Think New Mexico in calling for the enactment of the 10 major interstate compacts for health care workers.

The support for joining the interstate health care worker compacts spans the state from Angel Fire to Las Cruces and unites New Mexicans across the political spectrum, from multiple Indivisible chapters to the Coalition of Conservatives in Action; from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains to the Conference of Catholic Bishops; and from chambers of commerce to the AFSCME union.

Thanks to this enormous team effort, the good news out of the session is that legislation to bring New Mexico into the interstate health care worker compacts was discussed on the floor in both chambers, with many legislators expressing their strong support.

“As Senator Nicole Tobiassen said during floor debate:

“It’s troubling to me that some of us have refused to consider this legislation during this year’s session. I thought that helping our rural hospitals keep their doors open is what we were here to do. It was a priority, and a rural hospital doesn’t stay open without doctors. We like to talk about how special we are, but by staying out of these compacts, we’re actively making it harder for New Mexicans to access health care.”

In response, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth noted that he heard and appreciated all the calls and emails that he and other legislators have received urging them to pass the interstate health care worker compacts.

He stated:

“We understand the need to pass the medical compact. Leadership in the House and Senate and the governor agree and have committed to doing the necessary work on this issue during the remainder of the interim so we can present a consensus bill during the first half of the January session.” He later clarified that a “consensus bill” means one that will be approved by the compact commission to bring New Mexico into the doctor compact.

While we are disappointed that the compacts did not pass during this special session, in time to make a difference for New Mexico’s application for federal funding for rural hospitals, we appreciate this commitment and we’re eager for quick action early next year to expand New Mexicans’ access to doctors licensed by the other 43 states that already participate in the compact.

However, the bad news is that it is not clear whether the commitment to prioritize legislation to bring New Mexico into the doctor compact also extends to the other nine major health care worker compacts.

This is concerning considering that New Mexicans face serious shortages of dentists, psychologists, counselors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists and speech therapists, social workers, physician assistants, and emergency medical personnel.

So now our message to legislators and the governor is this: we urge you to not only pass the doctor compact during the first half of the session in January, but also pass all of the other major health care worker compacts – without any amendments that will prevent New Mexico from participating – as an essential step to addressing our state’s health care worker shortage.

Thank you again for raising your voices and making this issue a priority for your legislators. We’ll be in touch in the coming weeks to let you know how you can help keep the momentum building to bring New Mexico into all of the health care worker compacts early next year – as well taking action on the other reforms we need to solve our health care worker shortage, like medical malpractice reform.

Visit Think New Mexico here.