Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is set to sign legislation that would allow out-of-state doctors to help fill New Mexico’s physician shortage by joining an Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Following a unanimous House vote Tuesday approving the Senate bill, the governor’s office says Lujan Grisham intends to sign the bill into law Thursday morning.
The compact creates a centralized verification process, enabling qualified doctors in good standing from 43 other states to obtain New Mexico licenses more quickly. Under the new system, a physician licensed in a state like Texas or Colorado can fast-track their relocation to practice in the Land of Enchantment. “If a qualified doctor wants to move to New Mexico and start treating patients, this bill cuts red tape and gets them serving New Mexicans faster,” Lujan Grisham said in a release.
During the session, the governor must sign or veto legislation within 3 days of transmittal, or it becomes law without her signature. If Lujan Grisham does not act on the bill Thursday, it becomes state law automatically.
Feliz Rael, president of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, says that the NMTLA “supports the social work and medical compacts, which include years of work by senators Cervantes, Duhigg, and Trujillo, who fought for amendments that protect the rights of New Mexicans.”