By Roz Brown, Public News Service
Posted May 29, 2025
Unprecedented cuts to Medicaid under consideration by lawmakers in Congress would be a heavy blow to New Mexico, where more than one-third of the state’s population is enrolled.
New Mexico also has one of the highest participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, another safety net system on the chopping block.
Monica Otero, health policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, said continuous coverage for eligible kids is always a concern, because some parents will not know they need to renew it.
It’s our most vulnerable kids and families who are affected.”
Jacob Vigil, New Mexico Voices for Children
“This can occur about 25% of the time,” Otero pointed out. “New Mexico’s estimating that about 25,000 New Mexican children would be at risk of losing health coverage.”
New Mexico’s director of the Legislative Finance Committee has said a worst-case scenario would translate to cuts of more than $1 billion in Medicaid funding.
Nationwide, 23% of rural women of childbearing age are covered by Medicaid.
Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said in New Mexico, the rate is 40%, the highest in the nation.
“New Mexico and Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Arizona, Oregon and Montana,” Alker outlined. “And all those states have adopted the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion for adults.”
She argued a major reduction in Medicaid funding would also affect rural hospitals already struggling to stay in business.
Jacob Vigil, chief legislative officer at New Mexico Voices for Children, said Medicaid is also the state’s largest source of federal funds.
“It’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet,” Vigil stressed. “It’s our most vulnerable kids and families who are affected. We’re talking about vaccines, developmental screenings, early care and treatment when it’s most effective and least expensive.”
There is a secondary way the budget bill could hurt New Mexico. One provision would reduce federal oil and gas royalties by 4%, revenue the state could use to pay for health care which might no longer be available through Medicaid.
Roz Brown is a Producer for Public News Service.
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