Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

Health care reform is complex, and many New Mexicans who contact me are not sure why reform is necessary, or what it would do for them.

Health insurance reform would lower costs, improve choices, and ensure that all Americans have access to meaningful, quality, and affordable insurance.  Legislation is making its way through Congress that would ensure that those who are currently insured satisfied with their coverage will be able to keep their current plan.  A few of the other provisions in health care reform discussions are limiting what insurance companies can force patients to pay out-of-pocket and tax incentives for families and small businesses to help afford quality coverage.

Health insurance reform would greatly help New Mexicans, 26% of whom are currently uninsured.  While residents of every other state in the nation tend to receive insurance through their employers, only 42% of New Mexicans do, forcing the majority of our residents to buy insurance on their own, without any tax incentives to do so—in a state with one of the highest family health insurance premiums.

Health insurance reform would help curb growing health care costs, stop unfair insurance practices, and decrease the number of New Mexicans without insurance.    The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance plans in New Mexico for a family of four will more than double in the next seven years without reform—from $11,279 in 2006 to $28,533 in 2016.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that without health care reform, our nation’s health care spending will rise from 16% in 2007 to 25% in 2025 and a whopping 50% in 2082.  Talk about passing debt onto our children.

You can find more information in my policy summaries on a Health Reform Overview, The Cost of Doing Nothing, and the Current State of Health Insurance Coverage in New Mexico.