Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Human Services Department and the Department of Health are excited to announce the development of a new Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) “Supports” Waiver to aid individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are waiting for Developmental Disabilities Waiver services. The Supports Waiver will be the State’s fourth Medicaid 1915 (c) HCBS waiver program serving individuals with special needs. Tribal leaders have been invited to a tribal consultation to be held on October 28, 2019.

Santa Fe, N.M. – The New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) in collaboration with DEA 360 and The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation are partnering to host a statewide Youth Summit from Oct. 21-25, 2019, to promote community health and safety and educate attendees on the growing opioid epidemic. The summit will cover seven events in five cities over five days.

Santa Fe, N.M. – Human Services Department Cabinet Secretary David R. Scrase, M.D. announces the appointment of Neal A. Bowen, Ph.D. as the new director for the Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD) beginning November 15, 2019.

Santa Fe, N.M. – New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) announced a new map that is being made available to the public showing which pharmacies across New Mexico carry naloxone – the medication used to reverse the effects of opioid-related overdoses. The map is currently available through New Mexico’s anti-opioid addiction website, “A Dose of Reality,” at https://doseofreality.com/naloxone/.

Project Background
For more than a decade, the Navajo Nation has passionately pursued the implementation of a Navajo Nation administered Medicaid program for its people. A series of state and federal policies over the years have provided prime foundation for this opportunity, particularly in New Mexico. In 2009, Congress passed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) that amended Medicaid laws to allow for Indian Managed Care Entities (IMCEs) that are controlled by tribes and tribal entities. ARRA also offered American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) enrollees and providers greater protections in Medicaid and CHIP.

Dear Secretary Perdue: 

This letter will serve as the New Mexico Human Services Department’s (NMHSD) formal comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposal to essentially eliminate Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).