Letters to the Editor

Health care in New Mexico is in need of critical help

Editor:

I am not happy with the medical system in New Mexico. I have been trying to get a new primary care physician for the last several years and have been spectacularly unsuccessful.

My doctor went out of business. I could not find another office accepting new patients. And some offices don’t even have doctors on staff — just nurse practitioners!

As an elderly retired person, I travel quite a bit and spend time in another state, where I am able to get medical care. The problem is, he told me that I can’t contact him from New Mexico without jeopardizing his license. I cannot schedule when I am going to need medical care in order to be in another state, and my only options here are urgent care, which solves the immediate problem with no follow up, or the emergency room with a similar outcome.

As one example, I ended up in the emergency room in March and was told that would put me higher on the list to see a specialist. When I called for an appointment, I was told the next available appointment was in September — six months away — and it was with a nurse practitioner!

How has New Mexico allowed this to happen?

The Legislature needs to pass laws to address the health care shortage. From my understanding, the two most impactful changes the Legislature could make are (1) joining nine major interstate compacts for health care workers and (2) enacting reasonable medical malpractice reform to recruit and retain doctors.

These reforms are expected to come up during the short legislative session this month. I urge anyone that is having problems getting health care in New Mexico to call their state representative and support the passing of these bills.

Robbie Smith

Bosque Farms

Voters should be informed

Editor:

It seems like everybody says this for every election, but the election next November really is going to be the most important one in our lives. It’s important to pay attention to the candidates and not just pull the lever for the same old party.

First, make sure your voter record is correct. You can see this on-line at voterportal.servis.sos.state.nm.us/WhereToVote.aspx. Note that legislative means your state representative (House) district.

Next, find who your legislators are at nmlegis.gov — on the Main Menu, click “Legislators” then “Find my Legislator” then under either House or Senate, “Search by Your Address.” When you find yours, you’ll find their contact information. A tutorial is available, too.

For county commissioners, call 505-866-2001 (Valencia County clerk).

See if your elected government officials respond to you. Ask them questions to see where they stand on issues or policies. If they won’t talk with you, how can they represent you?

I have found that our House District 8 representative, Brian Baca, doesn’t return phone calls, so we have no way to find out where he stands on the issues that matter to us.

Next you can find how your legislator voted on specific bills at nmlegis.gov under “Legislation” and you have various “Find” options. A tutorial is in the list to help as well.

You can tell a lot about the priorities of a company by its budget no matter what they claim. Similarly, you can tell a lot about a candidate’s priorities and loyalties by looking at who funds their campaign.

Fortunately, there’s a way to find out online, although the search function does not yet work well so call the N.M. Secretary of State line at 505-827-3600 option 2 for help with navigating their website at login.cfis.sos.state.nm.us/#/index.

In House District 8, for example, Brian Baca received $25,000 from out-of-state oil companies in 2024 while having no opposition and no website to let people know where he stands. Why would he be soliciting donations during the campaign saying, “I need your support now more than ever,” when he couldn’t lose?

A functioning democracy requires citizens to be informed. If we don’t keep watch over the politicians, those politicians (who are elected to serve the U.S. not themselves) will be able to prioritize their own personal gain to the detriment of their constituents (us).

Especially now in these times, let’s all become informed voters and speak up so we will not be complicit in losing our democracy to fascism.

Paul Kinzelman

Peralta