New Mexico Eyes A 'Medicaid Buy-In' Plan To Insure More Residents [View all]

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Source: npr





February 25, 201911:37 AM ET



Laura Lucero Y Ruiz De Gutierrez has a heart condition and fibromyalgia and is at high risk of developing diabetes. She has health insurance through her husband's job. But between the $800 monthly premium for the couple's coverage and the $2,100 deductible she has to pay down before insurance starts picking up the tab, she doesn't feel she can afford to go to the doctor when she needs to.

She hopes that this may soon change. Identical bills proposed in recent weeks in the New Mexico House and Senate would make Gutierrez eligible to buy into a public health plan modeled on the Medicaid program, with funding support from the state of New Mexico. She could receive state-funded assistance via the program that would save her hundreds of dollars a month on premiums.

Laura Lucero Y Ruiz De Gutierrez has health insurance but says she still can't afford to go to the doctor when she's sick. She hopes the public health plan New Mexico is considering will change that.
Courtesy of Laura Lucero Y Ruiz De Gutierrez

"Medicare for all" – often described as a national, single-payer health system built on the Medicare model — has become a rallying cry for some progressive Democrats. Meanwhile, New Mexico is one of several states looking at offering consumers a different type of government-sponsored plan to provide a health care option that's more affordable than current options.

These states' proposals are often referred to as "Medicaid buy-in" plans because, typically, they would offer benefits similar to what is available through Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for people who have low incomes.........

Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/02/25/696626244/new-mexico-eyes-a-medicaid-buy-in-plan-to-insure-more-residents

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I hope NM can pass this bill.