Health Department announces cost containment plan

Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, MD, announced today that the New Mexico Department of Health will make changes to the Developmental Disabilities Waiver Program to help control costs and maintain quality services for clients.

The DD Waiver Program is an optional Medicaid program that provides services to more than 4,000 people with developmental disabilities in New Mexico so they can live as independently as possible.

“These tough choices are absolutely necessary for us to maintain a strong and viable program,” Dr. Vigil said. “Our clients and people who support them will have to reprioritize how they spend their annual budget. We will help people make the necessary adjustments so we can minimize the impact of the changes. People will continue to receive the same quality of services.”

The Department of Health expects to save $9 million a year and will work with clients and providers to roll out the following changes this month. All changes will be in effect by June 30.

The changes include:

• A 2% cut to annual budgets for non-residential services, such as therapies, skill building and care during the day, and to provider rates for these services.
• Families or caregivers paid to provide services in their homes will receive up to 1,000 hours of relief from care giving, instead of up to 1,750 hours.
• Restructuring Family Living Services so providers get paid based on an individual’s needs instead of a set amount.
• Stricter criteria for approving extra services for people who have high-risk medical or behavioral needs.

The immediate changes are necessary because of rising costs to operate the program and the current economic crisis. The cost to operate the DD Waiver program has been increasing over the past few years. The average cost per client has increased from approximately $67,000 in 2006 to a projected $75,300 in 2011. The total cost each year for the DD Waiver program has increased from $252 million in 2006 to a projected $307 million in 2011.

Dr. Vigil said one reason for the increased cost is more people are receiving the most expensive level of care, but some do not need all of those services. The Department is working on long-term solutions to curb those costs and ensure people only get the services they need.

“While we are developing long-term solutions for the program, we have to take these cost saving steps now to protect the program and the people who rely on these services,” Dr. Vigil said. “We are also working with providers to see how we can reduce the cost of doing business with the State, such as limiting the amount or frequency of required reporting.”

The Department expects to make long-term changes to the DD Waiver redesign in 2011. The Department is working with clients, people on the waiting list and providers in planning changes that will make the program operate more efficiently and continue to improve the quality of life for people who have developmental disabilities. Before making long-term changes, the Department will solicit input from the public, the Department’s stakeholder advisory councils and provider associations.

The Department already included these groups to craft the immediate changes. The cost savings the Department is implementing now will help maintain the program but will not allow the Department to take people off the waiting list.

“We would like nothing more than to provide care to all the New Mexicans who need it, but we must balance our desire to serve more individuals with fiscal realities,” Dr. Vigil said. “We will always look at ways to serve as many people as we can.”

The Department of Health assists clients on the waiting list to find and receive a variety of public support from several agencies while waiting for the DD Waiver. Services include special therapy for children who are eligible for Medicaid, special education classes and personal care services for Medicaid-eligible adults such as assistance with grooming, bathing and eating.

Wilson questions hirings at NM Health Department

A day after the governor's office announced the layoff of 59 political appointees, a Republican senator is asking questions about "emergency hires" at the New Mexico Health Department.

State Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort (R-Sandia Park) is questioning the DOH's hiring of 90 employees, some of whom she claims are family members of senior department employees, at the same time the administration has a hiring freeze and the state faces budget deficits.

“The magnitude of hires after the freeze of unqualified people who are fast-tracked into training for financial positions is problematic and is creating morale issues,” Beffort said at the Legislative Finance Committee in Santa Fe today.

The senator said she's been told the apparent nepotism is causing morale problems, and that some of the new hires are being trained for permanent, higher level positions ahead of other employees at the department.

“There is dissatisfaction among current, qualified employees who have been waiting for that training so they can improve their careers, instead these new hires who were brought into the Department of Health after the hiring freeze are receiving it,” Beffort said.

A spokesperson for Secretary of Health Alfredo Vigil told us this afternoon:

We have hired critical positions that include individuals who provide direct clinical care, which is an exemption to the hiring freeze. All of our hires have been approved by the State Personnel Office as being critical positions.

New Mexico's First Swine Flu Death Reported

(Santa Fe) – The New Mexico Department of Health announced today that it has confirmed the state's first death caused by H1N1 influenza. The 45-year-old female from Sierra County had end-stage liver disease and had been hospitalized since July 25. She died over the weekend.

Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, MD offered condolences to the woman's family and friends:

She was in the high-risk category for developing complications from H1N1, and we are investigating how she may have contracted the virus.

The Department of Health is planning mass vaccination clinics for H1N1 influenza when vaccine becomes available. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to begin shipping vaccine as early as mid-October. This year, people need to get vaccinated against H1N1 flu and seasonal flu.


Dr. Vigil says the best way to protect your family from influenza is to get vaccinated. He said it's especially important for people at high risk for developing complications:

We are carefully monitoring H1N1 disease in New Mexico and will keep you informed of new developments with the spread of disease, availability of vaccine and health officials' recommendations.

CDC's Advisory Committee recently issued recommendations about priority groups for H1N1 vaccination. The recommendations target people who are the most likely to develop complications from H1N1 flu and or spread the disease to vulnerable individuals. They are:

• Pregnant women
• People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months old
• Children and young adults age 6 months through 24 years
• Healthcare workers and emergency services personnel
• People age 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

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