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Summer school students line up for lunch in 2023 at Capital High School during the Santa Fe Public Schools Summer Food Program.
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Health Care Accountability Reporter
Summer school students line up for lunch in 2023 at Capital High School during the Santa Fe Public Schools Summer Food Program.
This week brought another onslaught of healthcare news, from layoffs and plan changes at the Presbyterian health system and the return of New World Screwworm decades after it was largely eradicated in the U.S.
Amid the hubbub, the New Mexico Health Care Authority — the state agency that administers critical federal health programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — made a series of announcements set to affect summertime food access, care for people with disabilities and rural healthcare.
Here are the latest updates:
After a delay in federal funding, summertime grocery benefits — known as SUN Bucks — will be available for nearly 300,000 children in the state starting June 15.
Jointly administered by the Health Care Authority and the Public Education Department, the program provides a one-time benefit of $120 in grocery money per child for families at or below 185% of the federal poverty level — the equivalent of just over $61,000 for a family of four.
This year, the program was delayed by about 30 days due to federal staff cuts, according to the state Health Care Authority.
“We know many families count on these benefits during the summer,” Health Care Authority Cabinet Secretary Kari Armijo said in a news release. “Now that federal funding has been released, New Mexico is moving quickly to issue benefits and help families access food support as soon as possible.”
Most eligible families will receive their benefits automatically, but applications are available at summerebt.org. Families can find free summer meal sites — which provide free meals to children ages 1 to 18 — at summerfoodnm.org/meal-sites.
Starting July 1, New Mexico residents will once again be able to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by calling a toll-free hotline at 800-445-6242.
The hotline will connect callers with the Health Care Authority’s Division of Health Improvement Incident Management Bureau. Reports submitted online at hca.nm.gov/report-abuse-neglect-exploitation/ will be directed to the same team.
“Restoring this direct line means families, caregivers and providers can reach the incident management team faster and more reliably,” Armijo said. “This change strengthens safety protection for some of the most vulnerable New Mexicans.”
The Health Care Authority will select six hub organizations throughout New Mexico to receive a total of $76.2 million to expand access to specialty, maternal, behavioral health and chronic disease care in rural and tribal communities.
The regional hubs are one piece of the state’s application for funding through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. New Mexico will receive $211.5 million in federal funding to bolster health care in rural communities in 2026 under the federal rural health program, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in December. It’s the first round of funding from a five-year, $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program established in the 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill, which will also slash Medicaid funding over the next decade.
Applications for the funding are due July 2. Visit hca.nm.gov/rht/ to find out more.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
Under current rules, SNAP benefits can’t be used for any food items that are hot at the time of sale — like rotisserie chickens.
Health Care Accountability Reporter
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