Healthcare Access:

We Need More Access, Not Less

Rural New Mexico is in a healthcare crisis. Patients in Chaves, Lincoln, and Otero counties already drive hours for specialist care. Rural labor and delivery units have closed, leaving expectant mothers with long drives to give birth. Now, federal Medicaid cuts threaten to make a bad situation catastrophic.

At least 15 rural New Mexico hospitals are vulnerable to closure due to provisions in the 2025 federal reconciliation bill, and six to eight could close within 18 months. Much like when a high school closes in a rural town, a hospital closure acts as a catalyst for economic and social decay — businesses suffer, patients must travel hours longer for care, and fewer families move in. District 33 cannot afford to lose what little it has. 

What Liam will do:

Defend Medicaid as an economic lifeline, not a partisan issue. Liam will make a clear, unapologetic case to Republican colleagues: you cannot claim to support rural communities while letting their only hospital close. With nearly 40% of New Mexicans enrolled, Medicaid is the backbone of rural healthcare and federal cuts will force hospitals and clinics to either raise costs or shut down entirely. 

Grow the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund. New Mexico's state-created fund is already delivering in the district, funding behavioral health services at Lincoln County Medical Center, opening an autism diagnostic clinic in Chaves County, and expanding telehealth statewide. Liam will push for increased appropriations and ensure District 33 providers are competitive for every available dollar.

Fix the veteran healthcare gap. Alamogordo veterans are currently required to travel to Albuquerque for VA care even though El Paso is far closer. This is a bureaucratic failure that costs veterans time and health. Liam will push for expanded community care options that reflect geographic reality. 

Expand telehealth and mobile care. Remote communities in the Sacramento Mountains like Cloudcroft, Mayhill, and Timberon, are beyond the reach of brick-and-mortar clinics. Liam will fight to make telehealth reimbursement permanent under Medicaid, connect rural broadband expansion directly to healthcare access, and fund mobile health units for isolated communities.

Address the behavioral health and provider shortage. The federal government designates nearly all of New Mexico as a health professional shortage area. Liam will expand loan forgiveness for nurses, nurse practitioners, and mental health counselors who commit to the district, and prioritize behavioral health parity in state Medicaid reimbursement.