At the time the package of stories ran, Gov. Susana Martinez was deliberating whether to expand Medicaid or not. New Mexico is a large, rural state with one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation. The stories represented our attempt to show readers what medical care looks like in hard-to-reach places such as Tierra Amarillo and Abiqui in northern New Mexico and to explore some of the benefits as well as some of the challenges to expanding medical care in a large, rural and impoverished state.
As we found out, only one of the state’s 33 counties has enough providers to adequately care for its population, according to the federal government. Geography is also a problem. Some New Mexicans live in small towns with no doctors or dentists. Even with an expanded Medicaid, they, and others, would have to drive far to access medical care. Then there’s the shortage of medical providers across the state. As our reporter wrote, “In the context of a national shortage of health-care providers, New Mexico has incredible needs.
Consider these statistics from the New Mexico Health Policy Commission, 2011 State Physician Workforce Data Book and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
• About a quarter of the state is uninsured, one of the highest rates in the nation.
• New Mexico ranks 49th out of 50 states for number of dentists per capita.
• New Mexico’s current nursing shortage will almost triple to 2,800 by 2015.
• New Mexico has one of the oldest physician populations in the country.”