Aug 29
Governor of New Mexico Looking for Lawmakers to Fund Mandatory Health Insurance for Kids
Should every child in New Mexico have health insurance? That’s the question that the Richardson administration is asking lawmakers to answer in their recent proposal for health care reform in the state. The proposal allocates $58 million a year to allow 50,000 children in New Mexico health insurance coverage who are at this time uninsured.
This proposal comes right after a proposal for universal healthcare for all was placed on the table during the regular session. Lawmakers were not enthusiastic to cover the 400,000 people in the state who are not insured, so the governor came to the special session with mandatory health insurance for children. And though the universal healthcare plan was a no go, Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde stated that coverage for New Mexico’s kids is “doable.”
The new proposal makes health insurance mandatory for all kids under age 18 through public or private programs and will make proof of insurance necessary before a child can start school or be enrolled in childcare. Also, for those who are uninsured, a targeted outreach program will be installed so that families can obtain health insurance. The program will send a statement to parents that children need to have health insurance and that different options are available.
What do you think? Is required health care for children a good idea? Will it help the situation?
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August 29th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Yes, it is a noble cause to get health insurance for all of the kids… but how exactly is it “do-able?” I wonder how they propose to lead the program into covering the children of low- to no-income families? That will prove to be the biggest challenge… I hope that they can figure out how to make it happen, though.
Jerry
September 9th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Having coverage for all is great, but at whos expense. Somebody has to pay for it.