UpLifting Wellness: On Consolidation, Immunization, Legislation and ‘Forever Chemical’ Cleanup
Our August UpLifting Wellness column covers the consolidation of state health care and support divisions, student immunization resources, a coalition critique of the special session and efforts to fund the cleanup of "forever chemicals."
by Samantha Anne Carrillo
Service Departments Consolidate
On July 1, 2024, the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) merged with other health care and social support divisions, becoming the New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA). The newly formed statewide agency unites the HSD with the General Services Department’s State Employee Benefits team; the New Mexico Department of Health’s Developmental Disabilities Supports Division and Division of Health Improvement; and the Office of Superintendent of Insurance’s Health Care Affordability Fund.
According to the transition plan, the goal of consolidation is to “transform the way New Mexico purchases health care benefits for New Mexicans, leveraging the purchasing power of the Medicaid program, which covers 46% of the state’s population, to improve the cost-effectiveness, quality of care, and health outcomes for over 180,000 public employees, including employees of state government, municipal and local governments, public schools, and covered retirees.” Learn more about the HCA at hca.nm.gov.
Education, Immunization & Access
Here in Albuquerque, early August means heading back to school for first-through-twelfth-graders (Aug. 7) and pre-K and kindergarteners (Aug. 9). New Mexico state statute requires all students entering public school and day care have certain immunizations: Diphtheria / Tetanus / Pertussis (DTaP/DT/Td); Tetanus / Diphtheria / Pertussis (Tdap); Polio (IPV); Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR); Haemophilus Influenzae type B (Hib); Hepatitis B (HepB); Pneumococcal (PCV); Varicella (VAR); Hepatitis A (HepA); and Meningococcal (MenACWY). Learn more about school immunization requirements at bit.ly/immreqnm.
If your child needs updated immunizations, check out the New Mexico Health Department’s (NMDOH) Got Shots? program, which offers opportunities for children to stay up to date on required and recommended immunizations and vaccinations. Participating providers provide services to any child presenting for immunizations, regardless of patient or insurance status. NMDOH’s summer 2024 Got Shots? Program runs through Aug. 17, 2024. Find out more about Got Shots? and identify the providers best situated to serve your child at bit.ly/nmgotshots.
Coalition Criticizes Special Session
On July 9, a coalition of 41 advocacy organizations and mental health providers sent and published a letter asking Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to call off the state’s legislative special session. Authored by organizations such as the ACLU of New Mexico, Equality NM, Bold Futures NM, and the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, that letter outlines the group’s top concerns with Lujan Grisham’s proposals, including bills related to involuntary commitment, competency, and median safety.
As reported by Source New Mexico, “a spokesperson for the governor said she is moving forward with the special session, and characterized the groups’ letter as calling for ‘doing nothing.’” The outlet quoted the response of Michael Coleman, Lujan Grisham’s communications director, to the published letter as: “Every day that the root causes of crime and other public safety challenges go unaddressed is another day that New Mexicans are placed at risk. … Enough is enough and this can’t wait.” Read the letter at itself at bit.ly/govmlgletter and explore Source New Mexico’s full coverage at bit.ly/specialsessionsnm.
Funding ‘Forever Chemical’ Cleanup
On July 8, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced the filing of an amended complaint for the cleanup of “forever chemicals” under a new federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule. Announced in April, the new EPA rule, which went into effect the day of Torrez’s announcement, designates two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)— perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
The New Mexico Department of Justice, New Mexico Environment Department, and the New Mexico Office of Natural Resources Trustee filed that amended complaint against The United States, The United States Department of the Army, and the United States Department of the Air Force, for contaminating natural resources and endangering public health with PFAS. Torrez said, “We applaud the EPA’s listing of certain PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals,’ as hazardous substances under the Superfund statute. This enables us to pursue monetary damages and costs at federal facilities, as stated in our amended complaint.” Learn more at bit.ly/epapfasnm.