Santa Fe, NM — The Republican members of the Legislative Health and Human Services (LHHS) Committee are recommending that the committee include several topics in its annual work plan.
Among these topics are long-needed reforms to the state's troubled Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD), which was the subject of a scathing report highlighting "systemic failures" and which is also being investigated for alleged misuse of funds. Republicans also have raised concerns that the agency's child placement decisions run afoul of the "best interest of the child."
"Mahatma Gandhi once observed that 'the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members'," said Senator Larry Scott, the Ranking Republican on the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. "Unfortunately, CYFD is failing in its mission of caring for these vulnerable young people, so we are pushing for more action and accountability."
In addition, Republicans continue to push for additional steps to improve access to healthcare for New Mexicans, including by finally joining a number of interstate licensure compacts designed to help medical providers get licensed more quickly in our state and by leveraging federal investments to improve the delivery of care in our state's rural and frontier communities.
"Until New Mexico does a better job recruiting and retaining doctors, it's no surprise that our families will struggle to get in to see a doctor," noted Senator Rex Wilson, a former health care administrator,"Enacting medical malpractice reform was a HUGE first step, but we still have work to do to improve healthcare access, especially in our rural communities."
And Senate Republican Caucus Chair David Gallegos, who has long championed the expanded use ofSafe Haven Baby Boxes across New Mexico, is again calling on the committee to help protect parents who choose to safely surrender their infants, saying: "We must do everything in our power to save these precious babies from winding up in dumpsters or portable toilets."
The LHHS interim work plan will be finalized at the committee's organizational meeting next month, and Senate Republicans will continue to advocate for important reforms to be included.
