[Lwvcnmtopics] LWVCNM - Reminder Monthly Educational Meeting Tomorrow July 10th at Noon - Impacts of Federal Funding Cuts on NM Healthcare and Education -Former State Senator Dede Feldman

Wed Jul 9 09:49:58 MDT 2025

Dear Members,

This is a reminder to please join us tomorrow for our monthly educational
meeting. The topic for our July educational meeting couldn't be more
timely!  Federal funding cuts and reductions *severely* impact New Mexico. The
meeting is both in person and on Zoom. The in-person location is the LWVCNM
Offices Conference Room, 6739 Academy Rd. NE, ample parking available.The
Zoom invitation is below.

While the final funding allocations will only be available following
congressional approval of the federal budget, education impacts await with
$600 million in federal education funding for NM and continuing concern
regarding the March 2025 dismantling of the Department of Education.

Equally severe impacts to NM Healthcare are also anticipated with extensive
Medicaid cuts to states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care
Act due to provider-tax restrictions and supplemental payments to finance
care for low-income residents, with increased concerns for rural hospitals.

US Senate Republicans plan to overhaul the Medicaid program*, *including in
this* $1 Trillion in funding cuts.  *Medicaid is administered at the state
level and is partially funded by the state — the federal government pays
for 70% to 90% of Medicaid costs in New Mexico.  NM plans to offset these
losses.  NM Senate Bill 88, which earned bipartisan support, could provide
$2 billion to the Medicaid Trust Fund, to offset cuts.  *SB88 *passed both
houses and was signed into law by Governor Michele Lujan Grisham on April 4
th of this year.  A special 2025 NM Legislative Session may also be
convened.

*State Senator Dede Feldman *represented District 13 in Albuquerque’s near
North Valley from 1997 to 2012.  Feldman has had a substantial impact on
the lives of women, children, and people struggling to make ends meet. *She
sponsored scores of* *successful initiatives, including many related to
healthcare reform*:  She was a champion of health care reform long before
the Affordable Care Act, her efforts laying the groundwork in New Mexico
for insurance parity for women and people with disabilities.  She is
credited with passing the state’s only “pay- to play” bill in recent memory.

*Among her recognitions are numerous awards including: *

   - In 2000, Feldman, the owner of a public relations company, as well as
   a citizen legislator, won a *Silver Anvil Award of Excellence* from the
   Public Relations Society of America for her work on the Graduated Driver’s
   License campaign. This is the highest international award in the field of
   Public Relations.

   - In 1999, Feldman was selected by the DC-based Center for Policy
   Alternatives as a* Flemming Fellow*, one of 38 progressive state
   legislators chosen nationwide for their ability to build bridges across
   party lines and advance a values-based agenda.

   - In 2012 Feldman was named a *New Mexico Hero of Health* by the Con
   Alma Health Foundation, receiving the *2012 Jack Taylor Best in
   Government Award *from Common Cause.

   - She received the *2009 Leadership Award* from the Mid-Region Council
   of Governments.

   - Fellow Senators honored her with the *Milagro Award* for outstanding
   leadership in 2007.

   - The Foundation for Open Government recognized her with the *Bill Dixon
   Award* in 2006.

   - From 2003-2011, Feldman was awarded the A*lbuquerque Chamber of
   Commerce’s Leader Award *for health care, water and solar legislation.

   - Feldman was the New Mexico Pediatric Society’s *Child Advocate of the
   Year in 2000* and the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries’
*Legislator
   of the Year* in 1998.

   - Feldman was presented with the* New Mexico Psychological Association’s
   Public Service* *Award* in the spring of 2001 and the *New Mexico
   Primary Care Association’s Appreciation Award* in 1998.

   - As a journalist Feldman has won over 80 state and national awards from
   the *Press Women’s Association, the Fund for Investigative Journalism *and
   the* NM Press Association.*

Feldman has authored four books examining politics and change in New Mexico
and earned both a BA and an MA in Political Science from the University of
Pennsylvania.   She currently serves on the boards of the New Mexico
Foundation for Open Government, Health Insight New Mexico, and the Robert
Wood Johnson’s Aligning Forces for Quality, and serves as a frequent
commentator on NMPBS broadcasts.  She has lived in the North Valley of
Albuquerque since 1976 in a solar adobe home she and her husband built as
an experiment in passive solar design.

Zoom Invitation

LWVCNM is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Impacts of Federal Funding Cuts
Time: Jul 10, 2025 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82728767322?pwd=DNMffUm0oUHqT106RsckgJNWE8peLb.1
Meeting ID: 827 2876 7322
Passcode: 182875
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Meeting ID: 827 2876 7322
Passcode: 182875

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdNcb8PaQZ

League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico
6739 Academy Rd. NE  Suite 124
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109-3352
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