OPINION: Compacts are a critical step in New Mexico's fight to expand health care access

In late 2021, Michael and Naomi learned that their 2-year-old son, Sebastián, had an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer. Like any parents, they wanted to get their son the best treatment possible. Unfortunately, his type of cancer was so rare, they needed out-of-state specialists. Because their son was on chemotherapy and severely immunocompromised, they could not travel to meet with medical providers in person and had to rely on telehealth. 

However, Michael and Naomi were soon shocked to learn that because New Mexico is one of only a handful of states that does not participate in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), they would not be able to see an out-of-state provider even via telehealth unless they traveled to another state. That’s because the doctor would be practicing medicine in New Mexico without a license. So, they were forced to drive from Albuquerque to El Paso, Texas, on numerous occasions to Zoom with an oncologist who had a medical license in Texas. 

Texas is one of 42 states that participates in the IMLC, a voluntary agreement that expedites licensure for qualified physicians willing to practice — often through telehealth — in multiple states. The physician compact is among the quickest, most impactful ways to increase access to doctors, including the highly-trained specialists who typically practice in states with much larger populations than New Mexico. 

In New Mexico, 32 of our 33 counties are rated by the federal government as Health Professional Shortage Areas due to the lack of access to primary care physicians, let alone specialists. This is one reason New Mexicans are waiting months for appointments. 

New Mexico needs a game changer like compacts to help increase our access to physicians. IMLC Commission data shows that participating states see up to a 20% increase in provider applications, with 30% of all new medical licenses stemming from compacts. Because they also expand telehealth options, compacts have a particularly significant impact in rural communities and underserved populations where provider shortages are often most acute.

Last year, the physician compact — along with six other interstate compacts for various medical specialties — unanimously passed in the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate. The good news is that heading into the coming session, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on the physician compact bill. That agreement will hopefully provide the momentum for New Mexico to join additional compacts, which will be reintroduced this year, to further expand access to care across our state.

The growth in support for compacts means we have a real chance to get this legislation to the governor’s desk and make it possible for folks like Sebastián to get the care they need. In fact, the Senate joined with the House in the October special session, appropriating critical funding to the Regulation and Licensing Department to develop a state framework for medical compacts, so we can quickly implement these agreements as soon as they are passed.

Our work to address New Mexico’s health care provider shortage isn’t new. In recent years, we’ve invested in the recruitment and retention of providers by paying off their student loans, increasing their reimbursement rates, reducing their tax burdens and greatly increasing incentives to provide care to our most in-need areas. But we need to do more, and compacts are a critical, speedy, commonsense step to give our children and all New Mexicans the gift of health.

New Mexico families and our little ones like Sebastián deserve no less.

Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, represents District 27 in the New Mexico House of Representatives.