Nearly every county in New Mexico faces a health care worker shortage, according to a Think New Mexico report. Late last year, New Mexico ranked 31st in the nation for doctor-to-patient ratios, but some New Mexicans still struggle to find accessible care. “It seems like everyone has a story about waiting weeks or months to get care,” said Fred Nathan, founder of Think New Mexico. “A lot of it has to do with demographics. Our state has the fourth-fastest aging population. At the same time, we have a lot of baby boomers who need more health care. We have fewer doctors. Between 2017 and 2021, we saw a 30% decline in primary care physicians.” He said the organization is a “think tank” that helps New Mexicans improve their lives. The organization’s latest report shows New Mexico is below national standards in a variety of health care professions. Part of the data cited as a reason for the expected doctor shortage is that more than 39% of the state’s doctors are over 60 and will retire by 2030. The report lists 10 proposals to improve the doctor shortage, and Nathan said the one that would likely have the biggest impact would be to create a $2 billion permanent fund for health care using one-time surpluses from the state’s oil and gas tax. “If Congress created a health care permanent fund, they could put about $2 billion of the one-time money we get from oil and gas into the fund and use the revenue from the fund to cover health care costs,” Nathan said. Another solution would be for New Mexico to join an interstate compact, which he said would not cost New Mexicans anything. “It’s a compact, an agreement between states in this case, that says your doctors can practice in our state and our doctors can practice in your state,” Nathan said. New Mexico is in one of 10 compacts for nurses. The state is one of five states that are in two or fewer compacts. Nathan said this is really about families seeking treatment, including a family who was seeking a second opinion on their son’s cancer diagnosis. “They called other states and found experts who could advise them, but those doctors refused to talk to them because we’re not in the physician compact, so they’re effectively practicing unlicensed in New Mexico,” Nathan said. The report includes 10 recommendations: reforming the state’s medical malpractice laws, joining all 10 interstate health care compacts, creating a central certification system, making New Mexico’s student loan repayment program more competitive for health care workers, making New Mexico’s tax code more favorable for health care workers, increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care workers, increasing access to health care-related vocational and technical education to increase the state’s health care workforce, expanding access to higher education in the health care field through increased teacher salaries and tax credits for mentors who train future health care workers, bringing more international medical school graduates to New Mexico, and establishing a $2 billion permanent fund for health care using a portion of the state’s one-time surplus from oil and gas taxes.
Nearly every county in New Mexico is facing a health care worker shortage, according to research from the Think New Mexico report.
Late last year, New Mexico ranked 31st in the nation for doctor-to-patient ratio, but some New Mexicans still struggle to find accessible health care.
“It seems like everyone has a story about waiting weeks or months to get care,” says Fred Nathan, founder of Think New Mexico. “A lot of it has to do with demographics. We have the fourth-highest aging population in the state, but at the same time we have a lot of baby boomers who need more health care. We have fewer doctors. Between 2017 and 2021, we saw a 30% decline in primary care physicians.”
He said the group is a “think tank” that helps improve the lives of New Mexicans.
Hearst Owned Think New Mexico
New Mexico’s Shortfalls Compared to National Benchmark Data
New Mexico ranks below national averages in a range of health care occupations, according to the latest report.
Some data shows that more than 39% of the state’s physicians are over 60 and expected to retire by 2030, explaining the expected physician shortage.
The report includes 10 recommendations to address staffing shortages, but Nathan said one he sees as most effective is creating a $2 billion permanent fund for health care using a one-time surplus from the state’s oil and gas tax.
“If Congress were to create the Health Care Permanent Fund, they could put about $2 billion in lump sum revenues from oil and gas into the fund and use the revenues from the fund to pay for health care,” Nathan said.
Another solution would be for New Mexico to join the interstate compact, at no cost to New Mexicans, he said.
“It’s an agreement, in this case an agreement between states that doctors from your state can practice in our state and our doctors can practice in your state,” Nathan said.
Hearst Owned Think New Mexico
Major interstate health agreements
New Mexico participates in one in 10 such compacts for nurses. The state is one of five that participate in two or fewer of these compacts. Nathan said this is really about families seeking care, including one family who was seeking a second opinion about their son’s cancer diagnosis.
“They’ve been calling other states to find experts who can advise them, but the doctors there refuse to talk to them because we’re not part of the physician compact, so they’re effectively practicing unlicensed in New Mexico,” Nathan said.
The report’s 10 recommendations:
reforming the state’s medical malpractice laws, joining all 10 interstate health care professional compacts, creating a centralized credentialing system, making New Mexico’s student loan repayment program more competitive for health care workers, making New Mexico’s tax system more favorable for health care workers, increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care workers, increasing access to health care-related vocational and technical education to increase the state’s health care workforce, expanding access to higher education in the health care field through increased teacher salaries and tax credits for mentors who train future health care workers, bringing more international medical school graduates to New Mexico, and creating a $2 billion permanent fund for health care using a portion of the state’s one-time surplus from oil and gas taxes.
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