A view from the legislative branch

Senator DeDe Feldman says that while it's going to be rough sledding to pass any reform, no matter how slight, it's got to be done.

The main point from her committee's report: Mathematica, the health care consulting firm that we paid to do the math for us, says we're on a crash course with reality. If we do nothing but allow the failed system to leave more New Mexicans uninsured each year, within 5 years we'll be spending as much as if we'd implemented a universal health care plan.

Sec. Hyde's presentation to the Legislative Finance Committee yesterday, which preceded the ACI event, was notable because it included a request for increased Medicaid funding as well as the nuts and bolts of the Guv's proposed program.