By Frost McGahey
Investigative Reporter
Dan Otero, CEO of HMSAccording to a group of former physicians at HMS, when Dan Otero started as CEO, HMS had 17 medical doctors, including a psychiatrist, and 12 nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Now HMS only has 6 providers, plus one on the way when it used to have 29.*
They go on to state, “It wasn’t Covid; it was the malignant workplace culture created by Otero that made us quit. HMS is shrinking while other local practices are growing. This is while he’s making $270,000 a year. The annual reporting system that shows the quality of health care measures shows HMS has fallen behind NM and national averages.”
The group of providers who are challenging Otero’s leadership state that Oterocontinues to make questionable financial decisions. They claim “past monies spent for marketing has little value to improve medical outcomes. Multiple trips to the national and state capitals, plus other business trips, don’t improve patient care. Otero used taxpayer money to hire a media consultant to deflect his and the board’s leadership failures.”
An additional issue was that the last published 990** was 2023. No comment was made regarding the net loss the first two quarters of 2024 shown in the 2023-2024 audit. No comment was made regarding 2025 financials to date.
Another organization is also having problems with HMS. The Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging’s issued a press release of June 18 giving notice that they were terminating their contract with HMS for operating the Senior Center in Lordsburg. They cited shortcomings in HMS’s budget management and misrepresenting the amounts of local funding received by HMS.
The medical group pointed out, “Has any former or current HMS physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant come forward to advocate for the current HMS leadership? Contrast this inaction to the letter of no confidence signed by multiple providers.”
At the end of the interview with HMS on June 12 that Mary Alice Murphy, editor of the Grant County Beat conducted with HMS, Dan Otero stated, “You were absolutely lied to on this story, on our side of this. So thank you for coming."
The providers said, “The community has to determine who is lying. Fortunately for them, it's not a difficult choice. Only the community can make the decision when enough is enough.”
A HMS Follow Up Community TownHall Meeting is being held, Wednesday, July 9 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center. The public is invited to share their concerns about HMS. This is being organized by the group of former HMS providers.
* HMS answers questions 061225 (grantcountybeat.com)
**A Form 990 is a tax form for tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that be must filed annually with the IRS. It provides transparency about the organization’s operations, finances, governance, and compliance with tax laws.
