Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR
Lopez
/Pinto/Sedillo Lopez/Hickey
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 02/05/2025
SHORT TITLE Federally Qualified Health Center
Operations
BILL
NUMBER Senate Bill 270
ANALYST Chilton
APPROPRIATION*
(dollars in thousands)
FY25 FY26
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected $500,000.0 Recurring General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Department of Health (DOH) Health Care Authority (HCA)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Senate Bill 270
Senate Bill 270, Federally Qualified Health Center Operations, appropriates $500 million from
the general fund to the Department of Health (DOH) for the purpose of supporting the operations
of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in New Mexico.
This bill does not contain an effective date and, as a result, would go into effect 90 days after the
Legislature adjourns if enacted, or June 20, 2025.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $500 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY26 shall revert to the
general fund.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers are among the most important safety-net medical
providers in New Mexico and in the United States as a whole. Usually located in underserved Senate Bill 270 – Page 2
areas, such as those in 32 of the 33 New Mexico counties, they disproportionately serve the poor
and the uninsured.
According to US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), there are 20
organizations qualified as FQHCs in New Mexico, many of which have multiple clinics (for
example, Presbyterian Medical Services, headquartered in Santa Fe, lists 76 offices throughout
the state, First Choice Health Centers in Albuquerque has seven clinics in three central New
Mexico counties, and El Centro Family Health has 12 in northern New Mexico). The clinics
serve a varied clientele, tending toward those most in need of care and those who lack health care
coverage. The New Mexico Primary Care Association provides a breakdown of the more than
1.5 million visits recorded by these clinics in 2023:
Visit Type Number of Visits
Medical visits 815,488
Dental visits 218,046
Behavioral health and substance use 400,163
Health education/case management 101,897
Behavioral/substance abuse 400,163
Health education/case management 101,897
Vision and other 14,112
The New Mexico Primary Care Association also gives the following breakdown of New Mexico
health centers’ population by poverty level and insurance type, comparing it with the national
average and the state’s population as a whole, indicating that the health centers’ population
skews heavily toward the poor. It is unclear where this population would receive health care if
the FQHCs ceased to exist.
*2023 Data State Population National Average NM Health Center Population
Percent Medicaid 45% 18% 39%
Percent Uninsured 3% 9% 20%
Percent at or under 100% of poverty 18% 12% 39%
Percent under 200% of poverty 41% 28% 89%
Locations of the primary health care sites are shown on Attachment 1 below, which comes from
the New Mexico Primary Care Association.
Attachments:
1. Map of New Mexico Federally Qualified Health Centers
Senate Bill 270 – Page 3
Attachment 1.
LAC/rl