The New Mexico Legislature just wrapped up a special session convened by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The goal was to protect New Mexicans from looming federal budget cuts to healthcare and public broadcasting.

Most of the attention focused on shoring up healthcare funding—appropriating dollars to offset recent cuts and the removal of Medicaid subsidies. Lawmakers also passed a bill to help stabilize services in rural clinics and hospitals.

All of this is good, but something important is missing: medical compacts that would give New Mexicans more access to doctors and specialists. A recent Albuquerque Journal poll found that 59% of Albuquerque-area voters had trouble getting medical appointments in the past year.

Here’s the real-life issue for families. While legislators are right to fill Medicaid funding gaps, what good is coverage if patients wait months to see a doctor or specialist? Sometimes those delays have deadly consequences.

(Originally published by Los Alamos Daily Post, October 6, 2025)