Health
Though NM outlawed the practice, hospitals are still suing folks with low incomes to collect debt
Even after New Mexico made it illegal for hospitals to send collectors after people with low incomes who owe them money or to sue patients to collect medical debt, a review of court records finds that hospitals or their collection agencies have filed more than 700 lawsuits trying to do exactly that. Over 200,000 New […]
Paid family and medical leave proposal returning to NM Legislature
When New Mexicans face the life circumstances that make it impossible for them to work, there’s no guarantee that their boss will keep paying them or that they can keep their job. A proposal to change that — which lawmakers have been talking about for decades — will return in January in the upcoming legislative […]
Opiate addiction experts call on lawmakers to remove a barrier to rural methadone treatment
Advocates are optimistic the New Mexico Legislature will change a law during the upcoming legislative session to allow nurses to administer methadone, a barrier they say is making it harder to help those with opioid addictions, especially in rural areas. State law allows only pharmacists to dispense “take-home” doses of methadone or buprenorphine, commonly known […]
Schools, sheriffs, and syringes: State plans vary for spending $26B in opioid settlement funds
With more than 200 Americans still dying of drug overdoses each day, states are beginning the high-stakes task of deciding how to spend billions of dollars in settlement funds from opioid manufacturers and distributors. Their decisions will have real-world implications for families and communities across the country that have borne the brunt of the opioid […]
U.S. House to intervene in rail workers strike, heeding Biden’s call
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday said the House will take up legislation to ratify an agreement between rail workers and operators in order to avert a nationwide rail strike. “This week, the House will take up a bill adopting the Tentative Agreement — with no poison pills or changes to the […]
Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]
Two communities find a cure for medical debt: pandemic stimulus funds
Local governments in Ohio and Illinois are using American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve residents struggling with medical debt by partnering with an organization that buys debt and wipes the slate clean for debtors. It’s a strategy advocates say could be duplicated across the country to help erase a multibillion-dollar problem. On Nov. 9, […]
Vigil in Albuquerque honors people killed in Colorado Springs at Club Q
The realities of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs were close to home for many in Albuquerque, and people gathered in Morningside Park on Tuesday evening to grieve the lives lost in the queer bar. Several people knew people at the club on Saturday, Nov. 19, and many at the vigil frequented it themselves. […]
Searching for an explanation about why N.M. pediatric hospitals are overflowing
New Mexico’s hospitals are overrun with sick children. Numerous medical experts have said over the past couple weeks that part of the reason is that the public health measures New Mexico took in response to COVID made it so children did not get exposed to respiratory viruses as they normally would have. But in interviews […]
Healing through culture
HOUCK — In a remote hogan near the southern edge of the Navajo Nation, Wayne Wilson lights a fire, lays out eagle feathers and remembers his grandfather’s teachings. “He would talk to me and tell me, ‘Grandson, we’re going to do things here together. We’re going to pray together. We’re going to sing together. And […]
How to try to avoid catching COVID over the holidays
Individual behavior is not a guarantee of avoiding infection with COVID. But there are steps that you can take to mitigate the risk of catching it if and when you visit your relatives over the upcoming holiday season. Dr. Anna Duran, associate chief medical officer at UNM Hospital, says she is anticipating a surge in […]
Officials don’t intend to ask for more state money next year for uranium mine cleanup
Even though the state Legislature passed a uranium mine bill that was signed into law by the governor, it’ll likely be years before the state actually begins to clean things up. More money is needed for the effort, but because the early stages of work are moving slowly, officials don’t expect to ask for additional […]