Supporting New Mexico Hospitals and Protecting Access to Care
Our current medical malpractice insurance laws are driving doctors away, weakening local economies and putting entire communities at risk of losing health services.
New Mexico’s hospitals – from rural critical access hospitals to integrated delivery systems – need state policies that protect access to care while ensuring they can continue serving their communities for years to come.
As the voice for our 48 member hospitals throughout the state, the New Mexico Hospital Association supports meaningful medical malpractice insurance reform that protects patients and secures long-term, sustainable access to local healthcare services, enabling the recruitment and retention of needed physicians and providers and strengthening the healthcare infrastructure New Mexicans are counting on every day.
We therefore call on our Legislature to support HB 99, which outlines common-sense reforms to our medical malpractice laws.
About HB 99
HB 99 introduces comprehensive, common-sense medical malpractice insurance reforms, including:
- Require clear and convincing evidence that the provider was malicious, willful, wanton, reckless, fraudulent or bad faith.
- Introduce a cap on punitive damages equal to the compensatory damages cap.
- Exclude payment by the Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF).
- Prohibit the initial claim from including punitive damages, meaning the plaintiff must first show sufficient evidence that intentional damage occurred (bifurcated process).
Introducing clarifying language to:
- Update the definition of “occurrence” to clarify that the number of providers involved in an incident does not increase the number of claims/occurrences of malpractice.
- Adds a definition for “value of accrued medical care and related benefits” as being the actual amount paid or owed and does not include any costs waived, written off or lowered.
Updating structure and regulations around the PCF to:
- Extends hospitals’ participation in the PCF through 2029 and specify that the PCF qualification provisions for hospitals expire at the same time.
- Requires that payments made from the PCF for medical and related care will be made as bills become due, rather than all at once.
New Mexico has a healthcare access problem, and it’s affecting thousands of patients across our state every day. Luckily, our Legislature has the opportunity to take real steps to protect healthcare access with common sense medical malpractice insurance reform. If you believe all New Mexicans deserve access to high-quality care, when and where they need it, tell your state legislators to support HB 99.
If you’re interested in learning more about why medical malpractice insurance reform is needed to improve healthcare access in New Mexico and how HB 99 will accomplish this goal, check out the resources below.
The Problem at a Glance
01
Doctors Are Leaving or Choosing to Not Practice in Our State
New Mexico is the only state in the Southwest to lose practicing physicians in recent years, down 248 physicians between 2019 and 2024.
New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws have insurance system has become one of the most punitive and expensive in the country. This results in unsustainable financial pressures for hospitals and providers, leading to an unfavorable environment to practice medicine in.
02
Insurance Rate Increases are Alarming and Unsustainable
Since the new medical malpractice law (HB 75) passed in 2021, malpractice insurance premiums have skyrocketed 500% or more at some hospitals.
Many of our hospitals are struggling in this current system, putting them and critical services at risk of closure.
03
Longer Wait Times are Endangering Access to Critical Care
48% of New Mexicans say they or a household member have had difficulty getting an appointment with a primary care physician when needed.
New Mexico is experiencing a healthcare access crisis, and our current medical malpractice system will increasingly jeopardize the ability for New Mexicans to get the care they need close to home.
The Legislative Path Forward
The Legislative Path Forward
Clarify definitions that drive excessive litigation
Aligning punitive damage standards with peer states
Keeping hospitals in the Patient’s Compensation Fund
Protecting patients’ rights while creating a predictable environment
Myth vs. Fact
Public discussion about medical malpractice in New Mexico is often shaped by partial information, competing narratives, and national talking points that don’t reflect conditions on the ground in our state.
We aim to address some of the most common claims surrounding medical malpractice reform and contrast them with facts drawn from independent research, state data, and the real-world experiences of New Mexico’s hospitals and providers. Learn about the facts shaping medical malpractice insurance reform.
