On February 3, with no debate, the New Mexico House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 1, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act. SB 1 expands access to healthcare by allowing licensed, qualified providers in other states to serve New Mexicans through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. The bill will go a long way in addressing the state’s health care worker shortage.
The 64-0 vote comes after the New Mexico Senate approved the bill also with no opposition. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has 72 hours to sign the bill to make it law. Once signed by the Governor, New Mexico would become the 38th state in the compact.
The House has passed seven additional compacts that would give patients access to out-of-state physical and occupational therapists, dentists, and social workers. Those bills are in the New Mexico Senate. State Representative Liz Thomson said the law will increase access to telehealth options so people don’t have to travel far for appointments that can be held remotely.
Supporters, including co-sponsor Sen. Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe), have also been quick to acknowledge that SB1 isn’t a cure-all. She has previously said that she believes other measures, including loan forgiveness for health care workers and affordable housing, are sorely needed to attract and retain physicians.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle share that sentiment. In one of the only comments lawmakers issued from the floor of the House Tuesday, Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) said that entering the compact will make it exceedingly easy for New Mexico doctors to leave the state unless lawmakers also enact meaningful medical malpractice reform.
Representative Armstrong, who was a co-sponsor of SB 1, said this after she voted yes to pass the bill:
“This is not a silver bullet. … We are with the signage of this, and if the governor signs it, we are giving them a full tank of gas to be able to go to other states, as well. Without medical malpractice reform, we will not fix this, and I am a little disappointed this has come before the other.”
A medical malpractice proposal cleared its first hurdle in the Legislature when the House Health and Human Services Committee voted to advance it, but not before Republicans objected to an “unfriendly amendment” that would not cap punitive damages for corporate-owned hospitals. Physicians who practice in those hospitals would still be covered, though.
Patient safety advocates argue that giving hospitals more protection under the state’s medical malpractice laws will undermine other necessary changes, such as improved hospital staffing levels.
Fred Nathan, the founder and executive director of Think New Mexico, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for New Mexicans, expressed strong support for Senate Bill 1. Nathan said this:
“We have a serious doctor shortage in New Mexico. We’re the only state that’s lost doctors for the last five years, and Senate Bill One is an easy and smart way to begin to address that doctor shortage. … But with the compact, they’re accepted as if they’re New Mexico doctors.”
Nathan said the bill will help alleviate the state’s doctor shortage by automatically licensing out-of-state doctors when they come to New Mexico. It also benefits patients who have specialists in other states, as currently, out-of-state doctors cannot provide advice over the phone without a New Mexico license
Kathy Love, who represents patients suffering due to malpractice, also supported Senate Bill One, provided that all doctors are held to the same standards as those licensed in New Mexico. Love said this:
“As long as there are guardrails to make sure that if we’re bringing in doctors from out of state, we’re bringing in good doctors and not doctors who are running from problems in other states.”
Currently, 42 other states, along with D.C. and Guam, are part of the compact. Kathy Love, who represents patients suffering due to malpractice, also supports Senate Bill One, provided that all doctors are held to the same standards as those licensed in New Mexico.
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COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
The fact that the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico State Senate both unanimously and with little to no debate enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act is testament to the seriousness of the shortage of licensed medical professionals in New Mexico. With any luck, the New Mexico legislature will also enact meaningful medical malpractice legislation which is still pending.