A. There is created the "New Mexico health policy commission", which is administratively attached to the department of finance and administration.

B. The New Mexico health policy commission shall consist of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to reflect the ethnic, economic, geographic and professional diversity of the state. A majority of the commission members shall have no pecuniary or fiduciary interest in the health services industry while serving or for three years preceding appointment to the commission. Three members shall be appointed for one-year terms, three members shall be appointed for two-year terms, three members shall be appointed for three-year terms and all subsequent appointments shall be made for three-year terms.

C. The New Mexico health policy commission shall meet at the call of the chair and shall meet not less than quarterly. The chair shall be elected from among the members of the commission. Members of the New Mexico health policy commission shall not be paid but shall receive per diem and mileage expenses as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978].

D. The New Mexico health policy commission shall establish task forces as needed to make recommendations to the commission on various health issues. Task force members may include individuals who have expertise or a pecuniary or fiduciary interest in the health services industry. Voting members of a task force may receive mileage expenses if they:

(1) are members who represent consumer interests;

(2) are individuals who were not appointed to represent the views of the organization or agency for which they work; or

(3) represent an organization that has a policy of not reimbursing travel expenses of employees or representatives for travel to meetings.

E. The New Mexico health policy commission shall:

(1) develop a plan for and monitor the implementation of the state's health policy;

(2) obtain and evaluate information from a broad spectrum of New Mexico's society to develop and monitor the implementation of the state's health policy;

(3) obtain and evaluate information relating to factors that affect the availability and accessibility of health services and health care personnel in the public and private sectors;

(4) perform needs assessments on health personnel, health education and recruitment and retention and make recommendations regarding the training, recruitment, placement and retention of health professionals in underserved areas of the state;

(5) prepare and publish an annual report describing the progress in addressing the state's health policy and planning issues. The report shall include a workplan of goals and objectives for addressing the state's health policy and planning issues in the upcoming year;

(6) distribute the annual report to the governor, appropriate state agencies and interim legislative committees and interested parties;

(7) establish a process to prioritize recommendations on program development, resource allocation and proposed legislation;

(8) provide information and analysis on health issues;

(9) serve as a catalyst and synthesizer of health policy in the public and private sectors;

(10) respond to requests by the executive and legislative branches of government; and

(11) ensure that any behavioral health projects, including those relating to mental health and substance abuse, are conducted in compliance with the requirements of Section 9-7-6.4 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 1991, ch. 139, § 2; 1994, ch. 62, § 17; 2004, ch. 46, § 9; 2005, ch. 72, § 1.

Cross reference. — For the New Mexico Telehealth and Health Information Technology Commission Act, see 24-1G-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, increased the number of members on the health policy commission to nine members; provided that a majority of members cannot have a pecuniary or fiduciary interest in the health services industry while serving as a member or three years preceding appointment to the commission and provided that three members shall be appointed for one-year terms.

The 2004 amendment, effective May 19, 2004, added Subsection E(11).

The 1994 amendment, effective March 4, 1994, deleted "health and environment" following "attached to the", and inserted "of finance and administration", in Subsection A; inserted "and shall meet", and deleted "and not more than once a month" following "quarterly", in the first sentence of Subsection C; rewrote Subsection D and inserted Paragraphs D(1) to D(3); substituted "monitor the implementation of" for "implement" in Paragraph E(2); inserted "and health care personnel" and made a minor stylistic change in Paragraph E(3); and rewrote Paragraph E(4), which formerly read: "identify the elements necessary to coordinate an effective system to meet the state's need for health care personnel".