This story is republished from NM Political Report, a nonprofit news outlet, as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By Susan Morée
A bill that aims to improve recruitment of healthcare providers passed 7-3 Wednesday with bipartisan support in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
The bill, HB 15, Healthcare Strategic Recruitment Program, sponsored by Rep. Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque, would allocate $2 million to the Department of Workforce Solutions as part of an effort to sway graduates of medical programs in New Mexico to return to the state if they’ve left to work elsewhere.
The bill, if enacted, would enable the agency to compile data on health care program graduates and gather relevant information on job opportunities, housing and amenities to disseminate to New Mexico graduates who’ve moved out-of-state.
Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, is also a sponsor of the bill and she was the sole Republican to vote for it. Jones said she spent some time working in Kansas as a nurse and might have responded to a recruitment effort to bring her back to her home state.
“I’m not, in general, in favor of growing government, but sometimes we need to invest. I’m supportive of the concept,” Jones said.
Some Republicans on the committee spoke about how much they were in support of the concept but each had different reasons for voting against it. House Minority Floor Whip Alan Martinez, R-Española, said he would like to see the program housed in the New Mexico Healthcare Authority instead of the Department of Workforce Solutions.
Anaya said the Department of Workforce Solutions would be a better home for the program, which will be a pilot program to start, because she hopes it will eventually broaden to become a recruitment tool for other industries experiencing labor shortages, such as education.
Rep. Eleanor Chávez, D-Albuquerque, asked if the program would also reach out to medical professionals currently working within the state.
Anaya said that because this is a pilot program, it had to be narrow in scope and the priority is to recruit people who have left the state.
The bill now heads to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.