Even before former Gov. Susana Martinez kicked the legs out from under behavioral health care system six years ago, services in the state were inadequate. Lawmakers met on Thursday, July 25, and wrestled with questions about what a good system should look like and what to do next.
People in New Mexico are today suffering some of the highest rates in the U.S. of mental health concerns, substance abuse problems, suicide and trauma. And outside bigger cities, it can still seem nearly impossible to get care. That鈥檚 put pressure on legislators on the , tasked with helping to restore or create anew a behavioral health care system.
Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino said there was a cheaper system that worked better here decades ago. "Back in the 鈥�80s, I think we had a better behavioral health system than we do now," he said. "We had a system that had a master plan behind it, and the master plan was regional community mental health centers. And they could then exercise incredible flexibility and creativity."
Experts testifying before the committee said the solution isn鈥檛 necessarily more inpatient beds. People today are being hospitalized because there aren鈥檛 other intermediate care options in the state, they said, and this creates hardship in rural areas, where outpatient treatment may be more suitable.
Overall, early ideas seem to differ about what a system could look like. But lawmakers said they can鈥檛 let another year go by without a fix.
