Myth 1: New Mexico has plenty of doctors — more per capita than neighboring states — so physician shortages aren’t real.

Fact:

Licensing numbers do not reflect how many physicians are actually available to treat New Mexico patients.

New Mexico’s license rolls include physicians who are retired, not practicing clinically, working remotely for out-of-state telemedicine companies, or not accepting new patients.

When we look at actual access, not licenses:

• New Mexico has far more federally designated shortage areas than Texas, Arizona, Colorado, or Utah.
• Many specialties have multi-month wait times, forcing patients to travel out of state.
• The Legislature is funding a data project with New Mexico Tech to clean licensing records and accurately count active clinicians. 

New Mexicans feel the shortage because it is real — and measurable. 

Sources:

• Health Resources & Services Administration. (2024). Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) data. https://data.hrsa.gov
• New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee. (2023). Health Care Access Briefing.
• University of New Mexico. (2024). Specialty access reports.

New Mexico Tech & NM Department of Health. (2024). Healthcare workforce licensing data modernization project.