UNM Asks Activists To Lobby State for Funding
By Jackie Jadrnak
Lawmakers and
the governor weren't there to see it, but the job of getting health care
for poor New Mexicans got dropped in their laps Wednesday.
University of New Mexico officials heaved it
there after hearing two hours of complaints from advocates and patients
who either couldn't get needed medical care or faced mountains of bills
afterward.
Officials heard of organ transplant recipients
struggling to pay for medicines that prevent rejection; a woman with a
complicated pregnancy who faces high bills for four blood transfusions her
baby got before it was even born; people with mental illnesses who end up
in and out of the psychiatric hospital because they can't afford their
medications.
"Without more money, access and quality of
care is going to suffer even further," said Regent Mel Eaves. "Despite the
work that has gone on ... neither the governor nor the Legislature has
included in their budgets proposed funding to offset the uncompensated
care gap."
Dr. Paul Roth, executive vice president for
health sciences, told a room of about five dozen community activists that
UNM health care providers and administrators want to give quality medical
care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
"We do not have adequate support to do the
very thing we all want to do," he said. "We ask your help to go to the
state and ask for adequate funds to provide this absolutely critical
public service."
The meeting was a follow-up to a summit last
month in which Gov. Bill Richardson asked the regents to examine problems
of access to and funding of health care for poor people at UNM. One major
recommendation from that summit was that the state enact a quarter-cent
gross receipts tax statewide to help close a $45 million funding gap for
indigent care.
That proposal wasn't included in budget
recommendations from the Legislature or the governor for the legislative
session that began Tuesday.
Many advocates at Wednesday's forum said they
would be happy to lobby for more money, as long as UNM officials would
guarantee that they'd use it to provide care to low-income people.
"How will the community know if the dollars
you're spending are being used effectively?" asked Laverta Nez, who
identified herself as a single mother.
In response to advocates' appeals, UNM
recently scrapped a payment plan that required uninsured people to pay 50
percent of the cost of non-emergency medical services upfront. Instead,
they will be subject to the same low co-pays offered to Bernalillo County
residents whose income qualifies them for UNM Care, a program that
provides reduced rates and is subsidized by tax dollars.
But most people— patients and staffers— don't
even know the previous high payments aren't required any more, said
Gail Evans of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. "We've
heard stories of people still being turned away," she said.
Improving access
To improve access to health care for low-income and non-English-speaking
people, Dr. Paul Roth, executive vice president for health sciences, said
he will:
No longer require people without insurance
or eligibility for UNM Care to pay half the bill for non-emergency
services before they can receive them. Instead, they will have the same
low co-pays required under UNM Care, a program for uninsured, low-income
people in Bernalillo County.
Allow individually designed payment plans
for uninsured patients to pay their bills.
Hire a consultant to study UNM Hospital's
interpreter services and consider that person's recommendations for
improvement.
Create an Office of Community Affairs that
would report directly to Roth, along with a Community Affairs Advisory
Council.
Meet regularly with interested parties and
provide financial information showing trends and issues affecting various
interest groups.