Squier: "We Don't Have Time to Waste"

Sidonie Squier

Capitol Report New Mexico - It’s going to be an uphill climb to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles — not to mention opposition from a number of patients and interest groups — but the state’s Human Services Department (HSD) is attempting to make some major changes to New Mexico’s Medicaid system. The HSD’s secretary, Sidonie (pronounced “Sidney”) Squier, says changes must be made because “we don’t have time to waste.” Squier told members of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday (June 14) that “we need to get moving” because the Medicaid system is unsustainable, pointing to statistics showing that Medicaid spending will rise to 16 percent of the entire state budget in fiscal year 2012. She want on to say that with health care reform scheduled to go into effect, the HSD estimates that 130,000 to 175,000 new recipients will be added to the state’s Medicaid rolls between 2014 and 2019, which equates to $300 million to $600 million in costs. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Squier: "We Don't Have Time to Waste"