Udall hears stories of New Mexicans who would be hurt by the loss of the Affordable Care Act

One disabled Albuquerque woman, Jeanne Hamrick, said she would not be able to afford prescription drug costs if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act during this judicial term. Hamrick spoke during a live phone conference hosted by Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Udall to let average residents around the state talk about what […]

Udall hears stories of New Mexicans who would be hurt by the loss of the Affordable Care Act

One disabled Albuquerque woman, Jeanne Hamrick, said she would not be able to afford prescription drug costs if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Affordable Care Act during this judicial term.

Hamrick spoke during a live phone conference hosted by Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Udall to let average residents around the state talk about what losing the ACA would mean for them. The Supreme Court will hear California v. Texas on Nov. 10. The case challenges the constitutionality of the individual mandate and, with the likely confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett establishing a new conservative bloc majority, the court could overturn the entire ACA. 

Hamrick said that before the ACA went into effect in 2013, she was paying $100 each month for prescription medication on a social security budget. But now if the court overturns the ACA, Hamrick said she would reach the “donut hole.” The donut hole is a gap that Medicare Plan D recipients experienced before the ACA went into effect once a person reached the annual drug spending limit. Essentially, it’s a gap in insurance coverage for prescription drugs. If a person lands in the “donut hole,” they have to pay a certain percentage of both name-brand and generic drugs, according to WebMd.

“Now I take a medication that is so expensive, I would reach the donut hole every year. I can’t afford to pay for this medication out of pocket,” Hamrick said. “If the donut hole returns (if the court overturns the ACA), I don’t know how New Mexico seniors on fixed incomes like me will manage if they have to pay thousands out of pocket each month for necessary medication.”

Udall said the state would lose $1.8 billion in federal funding, “forcing us to make cuts to make up the difference.”

But some experts have said the state won’t be able to make up the difference and that Medicaid expansion, which was made possible because of the ACA, would likely be a part of the reductions in health care that would take place if the court rules that the ACA is unconstitutional.

Related: New SCOTUS conservative bloc could overturn ACA, with big impacts on NM

In addition, more than 800,000 New Mexicans could lose coverage because protections for preexisting conditions would be eliminated if the court decides the ACA is unconstitutional, Udall said.

Although Barrett did not respond to questions about the ACA during her U.S. Senate confirmation hearings, she has said in her legal writings as a University of Notre Dame law professor that she considers the ACA to be unconstitutional. Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to confirm her Thursday. Democrats on the committee refused to sit for the vote. But she is expected to be confirmed by at least a simple majority in the U.S. Senate on Monday.

Others who spoke during the press call included two medical professionals – Dr. Val Wangler, chief medical officer for Rehobeth McKinley Health Care Services and Christina Campos, a Guadalupe County Hospital administrator.

Wangler, who is also a family physician, said that the way people put off health care at the beginning of the pandemic, and are now sometimes suffering the consequences of that, is a “mirror,” of what would happen if the ACA is overturned.

“If the ACA is rolled back, patients will not have the capacity to seek care. We’re now seeing patients with diabetes that has gotten out of control during the pandemic, or foot infections, heart failure patients. If they’d seen their primary care doctor they could have managed that in an outpatient setting. But they were reluctant to come in for care and we’re seeing the rates for hospitalizations we don’t normally,” she said.

As a physician and hospital administrator in Gallup, she spoke about how the ACA has benefited the Native population in the state.

“We treat a large number of Native Americans,” Wangler said. “The ACA has really given them a lot more choice in where they prefer to obtain healthcare. It will be a real loss for the Native population if any changes are made to the ACA.”

Campos said the ACA has had a “huge impact,” on rural areas which tend to be “older, poorer and less healthy.”

“The ACA really made it easier for people to access quality health care without getting indebted,” Campos said.

A small business owner in Las Cruces, Ariana Parsons, said the coffee shop she and her husband run in downtown Las Cruces would have had to go out of business if Medicaid expansion, through the ACA, had not paid for three surgeries her husband had to have on his heel in recent years.

“Our company would go bankrupt and all 13 people (they employ) would lose their jobs. Our business would have gone under if we’d had to pay for that surgery,” she said.

Lisa Trujillo, a self-employed weaver from Chimayo, said her grown daughter gets behavioral health care through the insurance marketplace. But Trujillo worries that if the insurance marketplace, too, is eliminated by the court’s overturning the ACA, then her daughter may have to come work for her and her husband in their weaving business.

Udall said that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion in 2012 during a previous challenge to the ACA, argued against Congress’ use of the Commerce Clause to enact the individual mandate. Because of that, Congress is now “on shaky ground,” he said when asked what Democrats could do if the court overturns the ACA.

“We’re fighting as hard as we can to show the American people what’s at stake in this fight. We need Senate Republicans to listen and we need New Mexicans to make their voices heard,” Udall said.

Correction: This story misspelled Dr. Val Wangler’s name as Wrangler. This has been corrected.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report