The New Mexico Human Services Department has commissioned a study from the newly established Center for Health Policy at The University of New Mexico’s College of Population Health to capture the attitudes and experiences of New Mexico’s population regarding Medicaid. Fielded from April 25 to May 28, 2023, the survey reveals that there is robust support among state residents to use Medicaid dollars to focus on the foundations of community health, also known as social determinants of health. The majority of residents support using Medicaid dollars to address some of the biggest social issues facing the state, including early childhood services, homelessness, domestic violence, and addressing economic development through job training opportunities.
The ability to tap into Medicaid funding to help address social challenges that are particularly important to New Mexico’s population is very promising. One of these challenges of particular significance to New Mexicans is gun violence and mass shootings. New Mexico has one of the highest rates of gun violence (the 8th highest in the nation). Furthermore, gun violence is the leading cause of death among children and teens in New Mexico. On September 7, 2023, the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a public health emergency over gun violence following another incident that claimed the life of a young child in Albuquerque.
The survey reveals strong support for using Medicaid dollars to address a wide range of social challenges, so taking steps to introduce new interventions through this funding source would be responsive to what we heard from New Mexicans in this study.”
Overall, 67% of New Mexicans support allowing the use of federal Medicaid dollars to reduce gun violence and mass shootings compared to only 15% who oppose. The remaining 17% have a neutral position on this issue. Support for addressing gun violence using Medicaid dollars is high across nearly all sub-groups of the population, but particularly high among Black and Latino respondents, potentially due to both groups having a higher likelihood of being a victim of gun violence.
UNM Center for Social Policy Executive Director, Gabriel Sanchez, PhD, noted that other states have tapped into these funds to explore intervention options including providing residents with gun locks and other devices intended to reduce accidental deaths.
“New Mexico’s Human Services Department should look to explore this funding stream with assurance that the population will support those efforts,” Sanchez noted. “The survey reveals strong support for using Medicaid dollars to address a wide range of social challenges, so taking steps to introduce new interventions through this funding source would be responsive to what we heard from New Mexicans in this study.”
There is robust support among state residents to use Medicaid dollars to focus on other social determinants of health. This includes 78% support among respondents for expanding early childhood development and pre-natal support, and 74% support for using Medicaid dollars to address domestic violence. State residents understand the relationship between economic well-being and health, as 73% of respondents support using Medicaid dollars to address economic development through expanding job training opportunities and addressing homeless, respectively.
Robert Frank, PhD, director of the Center for Health Policy added, “We most often think of Medicaid as providing just medical care, but this study shows how Medicaid might address the precedents leading to expensive medical care, saving lives and money for our state.”
“We are constantly looking for new ways to enhance the health of New Mexicans relying upon Medicaid,” said Alanna Dancis, FNP, BSN, Medical Director for New Mexico Medicaid. “I believe our partnership with UNM yields more ways to better serve the state’s 934,305 Medicaid customers.”
More About the Study
New Mexico’s Health Services Department commissioned UNM’s Center for Health Policy to conduct a state-wide survey of 1,900 adults in New Mexico. The Center for Health Policy worked with BSP Research, a firm with deep experience collecting survey data in New Mexico regarding health care and health policy attitudes, to field the survey. The survey gathered insights to gauge public sentiment regarding health insurance and healthcare in the state. Fielded from April 25 to May 28, 2023, the survey was conducted in both English and Spanish with surveys completed over the telephone (both landline and cellphones) and on-line. The survey data was weighted to ensure that the demographics of the sample closely mirrors those of New Mexico residents as defined by the U.S. Census.
Find full results from the survey and a summary report here.