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New U.S. House Bill Would Hurt New Mexico’s Health, Job Growth and Economy

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ALBUQUERQUE—Bill Jordan, Senior Policy Advisor and Government Relations Officer of New Mexico Voices for Children, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. House of Representative’s American Health Care Act:

“The American Health Care Act, as written, would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and impose a per capita cap on Medicaid, which would drastically cut federal funds coming into the state. This would be detrimental to New Mexico in many ways.

“The Medicaid expansion under the ACA is not only providing health care coverage to thousands of New Mexicans who can otherwise not afford insurance, it also has generated the best job growth in the state as hospitals and doctor’s offices across New Mexico have added staff to meet the increased health care demand. These new jobs create economic activity, which in turn supports and creates additional jobs in communities across the state. In short, the ACA and Medicaid expansion have provided the one bright spot in New Mexico’s otherwise anemic economy.

“In addition, more than 30,000 children have been enrolled in Medicaid as a direct result of the expansion. Thanks to the ACA, New Mexico’s national KIDS COUNT ranking in the health domain actually improved this year. New Mexico went from ranking 49th in health to 44th. Drastic cuts to Medicaid threaten to take away these important gains in child well-being.

“Public policy matters—good policy provides the tools that families, communities, and small businesses need to thrive while bad policy hurts the many for the benefit of the few. The American Health Care Act is bad policy that will hurt New Mexico’s children, families, health care providers, and economy so that Congress can give out tax cuts to the rich and well-connected.

“We call upon Governor Martinez to urge Congress to protect health care coverage for all New Mexicans and reject any federal cuts to Medicaid.”

New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization advocating for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico’s children, families and communities.

625 Silver Ave. SW, Suite 195, Albuquerque, NM 87102; 505-244-9505 (p); www.nmvoices.org

NM Voices For Children