Solutions

The Think New Mexico report is based on solid, results-oriented research. It offers data-driven solutions, avoids blame, and lays out a plan to strengthen New Mexico’s healthcare workforce.  Strengthening our workforce will improve access to care for all New Mexicans. Patients Primero supports the ten-point plan and urges you to read about it: https://www.thinknewmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/HealthCareProfessionalShortageReport2024.pdf

10-Point Plan to Reform the Medical Malpractice Act.

• • Balance the needs of patients and providers.
    • Cap attorney fees.
    • End lump sum payments and return to a pay-as-you-go system.
    • Stop venue shopping.
    • Raise the legal standard for punitive damages and cap them.
    • Prohibit the filing of multiple lawsuits over a single malpractice incident.
    • Require that damages awarded for future medical costs reflect the actual cost of care.

We understand that medical malpractice happens. Patient victims should be made whole. However, suing doctors isn’t the type of economic development that our state desperately needs. Lawyers, many of them from out of state, are making hundreds of millions of dollars jeopardizing New Mexicans’ access to health care.

The Goals of Proposed Reform of Medical Malpractice

• • Achieve Balance:
    • Protect patients who have been harmed, ensuring they receive the largest portion of any judgement/settlement.
    • Create an environment that supports independent healthcare providers.
    • Allow attorneys to conduct viable practice without putting injured patients at risk.
    • Increase and protect everyone’s access to healthcare.
    • Begin to address barriers to physician recruitment & retention.
    • Ensure a sustainable healthcare system for the people of New Mexico.

Join the ten Major Interstate Compacts

• Allow qualified out-of-state professionals to work in New Mexico.

Improve Tax Policies

• Repeal the Gross Receipts Tax on Medical Services and expand rural incentives.

Improve Medicaid Reimbursement

Increase reimbursement rates and ensure fair payment for care. Centralized Credentialing

Eliminate the duplication and redundancy of credentialing healthcare professionals

Expand Student Loan Repayment Programs

Provide adequate funding to qualified applicants with service requirements.

License International Medical Graduates

Tap into the global talent to meet local healthcare needs.

Create a Permanent Workforce Fund – Established in 2025Sustain long-term reforms without raising taxes.

Invest in High School Career Pathways

Introduce students to healthcare careers in which they earn credentials prior to graduation.Support Clinical Faculty and Preceptors

Expand higher education capacity by paying instructors competitively