State pursues Medicaid premiums, copays to cover rising costs

New Mexico residents enrolled in Medicaid may have to cough up more money for their health care costs by the end of the year or early next year under a proposal that aims to offset state spending on the program.

New Mexico’s Medicaid rolls have swollen since Gov. Susana Martinez expanded low- or no-cost health insurance in 2014 to cover adults with incomes slightly above the federal poverty level, up to about $16,600.

As of July, more than 250,000 New Mexicans had enrolled in Medicaid under the program expansion.

A single patient earning $12,060 a year could end up having to pay as much as $20 a month for the coverage.

Under the plan, patients would pay $8 for prescriptions, for example, $5 for outpatient doctor’s office visits and $50 for hospital stays.

The plan also would end transitional insurance that covers adults for about a year after they are no longer eligible for Medicaid, such as after receiving a higher income or when dependent children grow older.

They will show up at the doctors appointment and say they don’t have their copay. The doctor still has to see them , otherwise it is considered abandonment. Been there,done that, and they all know how to play the game.

“New Mexico’s Medicaid rolls have swollen since Gov. Susana Martinez expanded low- or no-cost health insurance in 2014”

If you really want to know how much health care costs, Suzy, make it “free.”

Good luck.

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