COMMENTARY: As a doctor, I am sworn both to do everything in my power to protect those under my care, and also to work to uphold the special obligation we as members of the medical profession have to support the health and well-being of our community. For me, this duty does not often extend beyond the cancer patients I serve as a surgical oncologist and breast cancer specialist.
But when I saw dangerous and appalling lies about New Mexico’s high-risk insurance being spread on TV by Steve Pearce’s campaign, I knew it was necessary to speak up.
Courtesy photo
Anna Voltura, M.D.
These ads were so recklessly put together that the first version of one cited a nonexistent, fabricated news article as backup. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the substantive contents of Pearce’s ads are also completely untrue.
Michelle Lujan Grisham did not “make millions” (just look at her tax returns). The allegations of corruption are bogus, and it’s been confirmed many times that the contracts were won through a competitive bid. And the idea that Michelle ever made an effort to overcharge patients is absurd; rates are set by the insurance pool’s board, and anyone below 400 percent of the federal poverty level (nearly $100,000 in income for a family of four) receives deeply discounted rates.
And the legislation Michelle Lujan Grisham introduced had nothing to do with lining her own pockets; it was an effort to ensure continuity for patients at a time when our health care system remained in flux following a rocky rollout of the Affordable Care Act exchanges. These are patients who would not be able to get the care they need through any other means.
Even more disconcerting than the lies in the ads, though, is that Pearce seems to be OK with using the high-risk pool as a political football in a bid to increase his election chances. The pool has helped thousands get the lifesaving treatment they need.
My job is to help New Mexicans lead healthier lives. The fact that Steve Pearce would risk these same lives as a political ploy should be disqualifying in and of itself.
Anna Voltura, M.D., is the medical director of the CHRISTUS St. Vincent Breast Institute. Voltura is speaking on behalf of herself, not CHRISTUS St. Vincent Breast Institute. Agree with her opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.