The Bernalillo County Commission Tuesday night to put a measure that would continue funding treatment for low-income and uninsured patients at UNM Hospital on November鈥檚 ballot.
UNM Hospital has been getting around $90 million a year in taxpayer dollars to pay for medical care for patients who can鈥檛 afford it. Now voters here will be asked to choose if they want to keep that money coming.
鈥淭he reason that this matters is that this funding is critical for UNM Hospital to continue delivering the care it provides the community,鈥� said attorney Sireesha Manne. 鈥淎nd it provides a safety net. It鈥檚 a safety net of services for low-income populations, people who can鈥檛 get insurance or people who do have insurance but their insurance doesn鈥檛 cover what they need.鈥�
There鈥檚 been disagreement in the past over whether the hospital is spending that tax money in the way the county intended, but now the hospital and the commission are hammering out an agreement on how future funding would have to be spent.
