Let’s just put ALL New Mexicans on Medicaid!

The front page of the Albuquerque Journal has an article highlighting the potential for the Legislature to adopt “Medicaid Forward” in the 2025 legislative session. Most of the article is glowing in its reporting on the potential for yet another expansion of government dependency in New Mexico. The idea behind Medicaid Forward is to allow New Mexicans above the 200% federal poverty thresh hold to receive Medicaid.

The estimated cost of the plan is $88 million, but we know this is a lowball number based on past experience. Even more importantly, New Mexico is ALREADY massively dependent on Medicaid whether you take the data from World Population Review or New Mexico’s own Legislative Finance Committee’s slightly higher 47% estimate. Vast numbers of New Mexicans are on government welfare and that hasn’t done much for our outcomes (health or otherwise).

Further expanding Medicaid is yet another way to fritter away the State’s oil and gas surplus. Hopefully the Trump Administration prevents this and perhaps reforms Medicaid to make it less costly as well.