Established in 1992, the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign is a broad and growing coalition of over 145 statewide and local organizations representing diverse interests, including faith-based, consumer, labor, community, health professional, human rights and environmental organizations; business owners; farmers and ranchers; and groups advocating for low-income New Mexicans and the homeless. Its mission is to establish a system of guaranteed comprehensive and affordable health care coverage for all New Mexicans.

For over a decade, the Campaign has been seeking public input into and support for its proposal: the Health Security Plan. As a result of this broad public input, the Plan has evolved and matured into a New Mexico health care reform solution that is not an imitation of any other state’s proposal or any other country’s system. It is the only health care reform proposal in our state that has been designed by New Mexicans for New Mexicans.

The proposal, which would enable New Mexico to set up its own health care plan – like a cooperative, with freedom of choice of provider and a comprehensive benefit package – is already serving as a model to another state. Arizona’s house minority leader, Rep. Phil Lopes, has introduced legislation based on the Health Security Act.

With a modest budget, a small part-time staff and dedicated volunteers, Campaign representatives travel throughout the state, educating New Mexicans about the proposal and other health care reform developments, and always seeking feedback on the Health Security Plan. Over the years, we have held hundreds of presentations, meetings, and workshops. Since 2003 our membership has grown from 28 to 146 organizations. To date, 31 municipalities and counties have passed resolutions in support of the Health Security Act. Legislation based on the Plan has been introduced several times in the New Mexico state legislature since 1993.

In the fall of 2006, Governor Richardson’s Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee commissioned a study of three health care reform models. Two of the models were based on the private insurance system, and the third was based on the Health Security Plan. The study, performed by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., concluded that only the Health Security Plan would save money. The other proposals all cost more than the current system even when the projections were made over a five-year period.

This was the second time that a health care reform study was conducted in New Mexico. The Lewin study of 1994 and numerous studies around the country have concluded that covering all or most residents of a state under one health risk pool results in hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, in savings over time.

Despite the Mathematica study results, during the 2008 state legislature Governor Richardson proposed legislation similar to the Massachusetts plan. It would have required that all New Mexicans either purchase insurance or sign up, if eligible, for public programs. Only three members of the NM house of representatives co-signed his legislation. Thirty members of the house co-signed the Health Security Act.

The governor’s proposal, supported by the insurance industry, was defeated because of cost issues and because of a lack of public support.

Since then the governor has tried two more times to get legislation based on the Massachusetts insurance market exchange model passed. Both times, during a special session called in August 2008 and in the regular 2009 session, the bills failed.

The Health Security Act was reintroduced during the 2009 60-day session. Thirty house members co-signed the legislation. For the first time in years, it passed two senate committees but failed to make it out of Senate Finance. Hearings were packed with supporters.

Passage of the Health Security Act has thus far been prevented because of the power of the insurance industry and the unwillingness of a few powerful legislators to take them on. But the dramatic growth in support for the Health Security Plan in the past few years from New Mexicans from all walks of life clearly indicates that their reign is coming to an end. The choice is clear: continue to invest taxpayer dollars in a failing private insurance system or finally set up our own New Mexico plan and shift private insurance to a supplemental role, just as Medicare did when it was established.

The Health Security Act enables New Mexicans – not the insurance companies – to develop a realistic, cost-effective and comprehensive solution to our health care crisis. It is the only New Mexico proposal that address the financial pressures placed on our state budget and our families and businesses.