[LWVNM Action] NM Special Session Begins
Meredith Machen
meredith.machen at gmail.com
Tue Sep 30 22:28:56 MDT 2025
A helpful summary of the goals of the session from Reena Szczepanski, House
Majority Leader and my representative.
Meredith Ross Machen
505-577-6337
Meredith.machen at gmail.com
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Reena <Reena at reenafornewmexico.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Subject: NM Special Session Begins
To: Meredith <meredith.machen at gmail.com>
Saving New Mexican Healthcare
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Dear Meredith,
*When President Trump and Republicans in Washington passed their Big Brutal
Bill, they sold out working people. *They passed the largest cuts to health
care and food assistance America has ever seen, all to pay for tax cuts for
the uber wealthy.
Here in New Mexico, we knew the impact would be immense and that we needed
to respond. Trump’s cuts will affect the health and household budgets of
hundreds of thousands of people in our state. And while many of these cuts
don’t take effect until 2026 or later, others have already begun. We have
been working with the Governor and her cabinet to develop a response to the
immediate cuts and to build the systems that we will need next year to *keep
health clinics open and prevent New Mexicans from losing their coverage and
food assistance.*
*Tomorrow, we begin a special session for that purpose, and I’d like to
share what’s on the agenda with you. *
Before we get into the specifics, a note about the nature of special
sessions: special sessions are typically focused on a single topic and are
much shorter than our regular 30 and 60-day sessions. In the recent past,
they have lasted for* just a few days*. Because of their short nature, they
don’t easily allow for in-depth deliberations, amendments, and revisions.
They work best when the proposals are well ironed out in advance, which
they are this year.
*On the agenda:*
-
*Food Assistance:* Maintain the $100 SNAP subsidy for seniors and
disabled New Mexicans, protect SNAP enrollment for lawfully present
immigrants, and support our food banks to help more of our neighbors.
-
*Obamacare: *Make ACA coverage more affordable for working and middle
class New Mexicans. We will replace the Obamacare Enhanced Premium Tax
Credits that Trump has allowed to lapse. Without this, New Mexicans with
BeWell plans making $62,000 and up would see huge spikes in their premiums
and many would be forced to drop coverage.
-
*Keep Clinics from Closing: *Prevent frontline health clinics from
closing as their patients lose their Medicaid coverage. We will create
grants to stabilize these clinics and help offset the increase in
uncompensated care.
-
*Disaster Funding: *Replenish our depleted Contingency Fund to ensure
New Mexico can respond quickly to disasters like floods and wildfires,
given the delayed and smaller FEMA reimbursements under the Trump
administration.
-
*Medicaid Eligibility: *Equip the Health Care Authority and Workforce
Development Department with the staff and systems they will need to manage
Medicaid and SNAP enrollment changes. Our goal is to help New Mexicans
maintain their qualifications, reducing the number of people losing
coverage as much as possible.
-
*Public Broadcasting & Tribal Radio: *Support the media that New
Mexicans count on, especially in rural areas, by replacing lost federal
funding.
-
*Health Care Workforce:* Provide funding to the Regulations and
Licensing Department to prepare for New Mexico to enter interstate
compacts. Interstate compacts will be a top priority for the legislature in
January’s 30-day session.
-
*Science-Based Vaccine Recommendations: *Maintain research-backed advice
for parents and adults by using the immunization recommendations of
the NM Department of Health with guidance from American Academy of
Pediatricians’ and additional national medical organizations' as the
standard for New Mexico. Unfortunately, after RFK Jr. replaced the entire
committee, the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices no
longer relies on evidence-based data and the medical community has lost
trust in its decisions.
While the special session will be brief, its purpose is urgent: to protect
New Mexicans from immediate harm and prepare for the upcoming 30-day
session.
As legislators, we cannot prevent every harmful action taken at the federal
level, but we can do our part to put forward solutions that safeguard
families and keep our communities strong. At its best, democracy is about
neighbors coming together to care for one another and this session is one
step in making sure New Mexicans can count on their legislature to do just
that.
Thank you, as always, for staying engaged and for the trust you place in me
to represent our district. Feel free to forward this email to interested
neighbors.
*Further Reading*
For those who would like to dive deeper into the impacts of federal cuts
and the upcoming special session, here are a few recent articles from New
Mexico outlets:
-
What to expect with New Mexico’s upcoming special legislative session
<https://ReenaforNM.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1fbb831dcbd79483e658ef6a8&id=37708dbaea&e=012360dbe2>
-
Lujan Grisham: More than 27,000 New Mexicans could lose insurance if
federal credits expire
<https://ReenaforNM.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1fbb831dcbd79483e658ef6a8&id=297f7000c4&e=012360dbe2>
-
GOP cuts leave low-income nutrition, education programs searching for
new funding recipe
<https://ReenaforNM.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1fbb831dcbd79483e658ef6a8&id=64602bc714&e=012360dbe2>
-
New Mexico officials estimate GOP budget bill would kick 88,000 off
Medicaid
<https://ReenaforNM.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1fbb831dcbd79483e658ef6a8&id=a8a71e191f&e=012360dbe2>
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