Date: 2016-03-15
Speaker: MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New Mexico

Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak about a crisis in my home State of New Mexico. a crisis that has hurt real people who rely on the Medicaid program for lifesaving care. Mr. Speaker. almost 3 years ago. the New Mexico Human Services Department. with the support of Governor Susana Martinez. claimed that it had credible allegations of fraud and suspended Medicaid payments to 15 behavioral health providers. This move wiped out the behavioral health system in a State where there are already significant provider shortages. I want to take a minute to talk about what that really means. That means if you are a person who struggles with schizophrenia but manages it effectively with regular treatment. that regular treatment stops and you go back to square one. That means that if you are someone who has been diagnosed as bipolar. who has finally found a trusted provider. someone who has brought some stability and comfort to your care plan. you no longer have access to that person. The loss of services is devastating. and I have seen it firsthand. There is a constituent who typically calls my office every day. multiple times a day. He calls my office. He calls other members of the delegation. the mayors office. and the chief of police. But from time to time the calls stop. They stop because this individual. who can be the most warmhearted person I know. is in jail. He has a mental illness and a substance abuse problem and can be belligerent when he feels threatened. so he sometimes has runins with local law enforcement. and he ends up in jail because the system is failing him. He is not receiving the services he needs. Our jails and sometimes our emergency rooms have become the de facto behavioral health system in our State because. when you dont have the infrastructure to care for individuals with behavioral health issues. that is where people end up. Mr. Speaker. I am. frankly. appalled that people in my home State are being treated in this way. but if you can believe it. it gets worse. Last month. the New Mexico attorney general completed his review of the allegations and found that there did not appear to be a pattern of fraud. Thirteen of the 15 providers accused of fraud have now been cleared. and the people of New Mexico are left to wonder why. why a whole States behavioral health system was wiped out and a large population of vulnerable individuals left to fend for themselves. I think they deserve answers. I have been working with my colleagues in the New Mexico delegation. pushing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to exercise Federal oversight and ensure accountability since the payment suspension was announced. We have sent multiple letters. made phone calls. held inperson meetings with officials at every level at CMS and HHS. and I have to say I am extremely disappointed by their lack of engagement. We sent another letter to CMS in February sharing the attorney generals report and asking that they conduct a Federal investigation. and we are going to continue pushing for accountability and working to make sure this never happens again. I plan to introduce legislation that would ensure network adequacy and continuity of care in a States Medicaid program. and I know my colleagues have legislation in the works as well. Mr. Speaker. I have spent my entire career fighting for vulnerable New Mexicans. people who are voiceless in the political process. It would be easy to ignore them. as so many have done. because they are too busy struggling to survive to engage in the political process. It would be easy. but it would be wrong. This is the most egregious abuse of power I have seen in my decades of government service. and I will not sit idly by while the most vulnerable among us suffer. We must have action. We must have accountability. Mr. Speaker. I ask my colleagues to join me in calling for a long overdue Federal investigation of the behavioral health provider suspension in New Mexico.