\u201cOlG\u2019s work will include enrollees in New Mexico and four other States. Specifically, OIG will\u00a0review the extent to which behavioral health providers are included in the States\u2019 managed care\u00a0plans and the types of care offered by these providers. We will also assess the extent to which\u00a0behavioral health providers have available appointments for new patients, the extent to which\u00a0behavioral health providers have waiting lists, and the extent to which behavioral health\u00a0providers are able to make referrals to other behavioral health providers for needed care.<\/p>\n
Finally, we plan to address ways to improve the continuity of care for Medicaid enrollees in the five States.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Below are remarks from the four\u00a0federal lawmakers from New Mexico who requested the IG review:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a manufactured crisis that has had tragic consequences for children and families struggling with mental illness, behavioral health issues and substance abuse, who lost access to care altogether or haven\u2019t been able to find steady care. It has also wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and cost dedicated health care workers their jobs as behavioral health clinics across New Mexico have been forced to close or lay off staff due to the disruption caused by the state\u2019s actions,\u201d\u00a0Sen. Udall\u00a0said. \u201cOur fragile network of behavioral health providers is still struggling to meet the needs of these patients. I look forward to the results of this study and will continue fighting for improved behavioral health access in New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Mexico\u2019s behavioral health system was turned upside down overnight when the state unilaterally suspended Medicaid payments for vital services. It\u2019s clear that this was a manufactured crisis that dangerously left patients without the care they deserved and had come to rely on, caused hundreds of New Mexicans to lose their jobs, and wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars,\u201d\u00a0Sen. Heinrich\u00a0said. \u201cI\u2019m glad the Office of Inspector General has agreed to review whether the state is still failing to provide New Mexicans with mental health services they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since New Mexico\u2019s behavioral health system was needlessly thrown into chaos a few years ago, my colleagues and I have been working to rebuild this aspect of our system of care and ensure steps are taken to prevent such a crisis from happening again,\u201d\u00a0said Rep. Luj\u00e1n.\u00a0 \u201cWhile we cannot undo all the damage that was done, we can take steps to protect continuity of care for those who need it, provide due process for providers, and prevent such a crisis from happening in the future. Hopefully, the results of this study will help us improve the behavioral health situation in our state in both the short and long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernor Martinez\u2019s Administration not only failed to take responsibility for dismantling the state\u2019s behavioral health system; the Governor refuses to ensure vulnerable New Mexicans have access to services,\u201d\u00a0Rep. Lujan Grisham\u00a0said. \u201cI pushed the federal Office of Inspector General since the beginning of this crisis, and we finally succeeded in convincing investigators to conduct a thorough review of those services. I want the OIG to determine where the state continues to fail its mission of providing mental health services.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The review comes roughly four years after Gov. Susana Martinez\u2019s administration disrupted care for tens of thousands of New Mexicans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[117,3281,107,208,116],"class_list":["post-384668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-health-care","tag-medicaid-freeze","tag-roundhouse","tag-susana-martinez","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Susana](\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Martinez-Susana-336x196.jpg\")