The Affordable Care Act

Clifton Chadwick

By Martin Hickey, MD, CEO of New Mexico Health Connections and a member of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange Board of Directors

If you have ever felt healthcare beyond your reach, now is your time.

If it was too expensive or if you had a pre-existing condition that limited your options, now is your time.
If you lived in fear of losing all you have because of outrageous medical bills, now is your time.

Because starting now, New Mexicans have the chance to sign up for health-care over the new Health Insurance Exchange.

What does this mean for you?

It means today, you can go on to the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange at www.bewellnm.com  and sign up for health coverage that will begin on Jan. 1, 2014.

It means that if you are under Medicare age (65) and earn 138% to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, you will qualify for a subsidy to help defray the costs of covering you and your family.

It means that not only can you no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, health plans can’t charge you more because of your conditions.

The Affordable Care Act, (ACA) is transforming American health care.  Whether you love it or hate it, two things are now true: it is the law of the land, and New Mexicans are waking up today with many more healthcare options than they had on Sept. 30.

We know implementation of health reform and the Exchange is not going to happen without bumps in the road. This is an incredibly complex change that will take time to sort out. But as someone with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare – as a doctor, as a member of the Exchange board and as CEO of the state’s new non-profit consumer oriented and operated health plan(CO-OP) – I see this day as a huge opportunity for New Mexicans to start living healthier and more secure lives.

 At New Mexico Health Connections we are an integral part of the transformation of American health care. We are one of 23 CO-OPs established nationwide to bring innovation and affordable health care coverage to the market place.   We do things differently.  Our benefit plans are structured to incentivize primary care. As a non-profit, we are required to share our profits with our members in the form of lower costs or expanded benefits. We are local to New Mexico – built here to serve New Mexicans. We are an innovative new option, created for the healthcare realities of the 21st Century.

It’s hard to argue that more competition and a non-profit health-plan alternative are not a good thing for most New Mexicans. Our mission is simple: to offer New Mexicans affordable coverage and help them work with their doctors to become more proactive about their health and wellness so that they can lead healthier, happier lives.

So, as you take some time in the coming days to think about your family’s healthcare options, I invite you to visit the Health Insurance Exchange web site at www.bewellnm.com ; and while you’re at it, check out our web site at www.mynmhc.org, and start investigating what this change can mean for you.

Of course, with change comes apprehension. But if you’re like me, you also recognize that change also brings great opportunity. And for New Mexicans, that opportunity is finally putting affordable health coverage within their grasp.