I attended some of New Mexico First’s health care event in Albuquerque. And, while I was impressed with the organization itself and the Town Hall concept, it was readily apparent that if the left hasn’t taken over the organization itself, then at least this particular event was dominated by advocates of universal coverage and bigger government.
On the opening panel of Don Chalmers, President, Don Chalmers Ford, Charlotte Roybal, Executive Director, Health Action New Mexico, David Scrase, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, and Michael Trujillo, Executive Director, Translational Genomics Research Institute, only Chalmers seemed to understand the marketplace and the limitations of government. Particularly disappointing was Trujillo who, in response to a question I asked about Health Savings Accounts, basically said that Native Americans were too uneducated to manage their own health care….apparently the dysfunctional Indian Health Services is doing a great job.
Lunchtime was more of the same as Secretary of Human Services Pam Hyde and Secretary of Health, Michelle Lujan Grisham said “it is not a matter of IF New Mexico will adopt a universal health care system, but WHEN it will.” Bob Crittenden of the Herndon Alliance was also unabashedly “progressive.”
One conservative speaker did address the attendees, Edmund H. Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation spoke at dinner, but even the Heritage Foundation has latched onto big-government health care solutions at least as far as the results of its vaunted Massachusetts Connector plan are concerned. That said, his comments were the only counterweight to the non-stop drumbeat coming from the expand government to solve health care crowd.