Courtesy Pixabay / Stefan Schranz
Greed Hurts Patients
Eight years ago, my wife and I lost our child as a result of medical negligence. It was completely avoidable and we are reminded of her loss every day as we watch her twin sister in the world. My wife suffers lifelong injuries from the negligence. In 2021, we fought for the passage of HB75—legislation that balanced accountability for corporate hospitals and insurance companies while ensuring fairness for patients harmed by medical negligence. Shortly after, I joined the advisory board for the Patient Compensation Fund in order to help hold medical corporations accountable. Yet, the struggle continues. Despite HB75 being a historic compromise that patients led and doctors and hospitals supported, fairness for New Mexico patients continues to be politicized.
Earlier this month, Superintendent of Insurance Russ Toal released a list of changes to HB75 that read like a corporate insurance company’s wish list—collect premiums and refuse payouts. With that document, Toal not only went against a unanimous Patient Compensation Fund Advisory Board vote, but also abandoned his statutory duty to regulate insurance companies and protect New Mexico families from profit-driven decisions over quality care. Unfortunately, the superintendent’s actions were not the last attack on patients and those who stand with them.
Now that elections are upon us, voters are being sent political ads by the Republican House Caucus, attacking legislators who stood beside patients during HB75. The Republican House Caucus sent these mailers despite nearly all Republicans in the Senate voting for the legislation. Then, we watched gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti attack the governor for signing the historic compromise into law, further politicizing the pain felt by victims of medical negligence.
Meanwhile, New Mexico families continue to deal with the fallout of corporate greed. For those wishing to dismantle the solutions that patients brought to HB75: Stop politicizing our pain. As elected officials, the depth of our losses as New Mexico families should pressure you just as much as the corporate insurance lobby.
Ezra Spitzer, member, Advisory Board for the Patient Compensation Fund
