From the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance:
SANTA FE – Across the United States mergers and acquisitions of health care entities have caused significant challenges in health care pricing, access to services, and quality of care.
Earlier this year, the New Mexico Legislature adopted the Health Care Consolidation Act (Act) passed as Senate Bill 15 in the 2024 legislative session, which gives the Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) tools to provide oversite of certain hospital transactions.
The Act is intended to ensure that such transactions are in the public interest and will not drive-up health costs, reduce access to essential services, or diminish the quality of care. The Act will be in effect for approximately one year, during which time additional stakeholder engagement and research will be conducted to develop a more comprehensive approach to oversight of major health care transactions.
The OSI will be holding public meetings to discuss and receive feedback on the Health Care Consolidation Act signed into law by the Governor. Public meetings and input were received earlier this summer in Alamogordo, Las Cruces and Gallup. The OSI will host meetings to continue its public education effort about what the Act entails and obtain input from the public and health care providers in Las Vegas and Taos.
The meeting in Las Vegas is 4-6 p.m. Sept. 18, at SUB 320 — Governance Room National Avenue & 8th Street on the New Mexico Highlands University campus.
The meeting in Taos is 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 19 at the New Mexico Bataan Hall 121 Civic Plaza Dr. in Taos.
To register for either of these meetings, email OSI.Consolidation@state.nm.us.
“We have received invaluable input from the dialogue that has happened in our previous meetings,” OSI Superintendent Alice Kane said. “We will gather this information and will work with Senator Duhigg and Representative Szczepanski to make a more robust piece of legislation that will be introduced at the next legislative session.”
About the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance
The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) is New Mexico’s agency for oversight and regulation of insurance. OSI oversees private health and life insurance, auto insurance, business insurance, home insurance, and title insurance. OSI reviews premium rates and other plan details to ensure insurance is reliable, the company is financially solvent, and rates are fair and reasonable. By overseeing producers (formerly known as brokers and agents) who sell insurance in New Mexico, OSI is committed to consumer protection and will do everything in its power to make sure that New Mexicans are treated with fairness and honesty when it comes to matters of insurance.
For more information, visit https://www.osi.state.nm.us/
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.