During the 2021 Legislative Session, the New Mexico Legislature passed and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 317, which placed a moratorium on out-of-pocket costs for mental health services for state-regulated plans and created a Health Care Affordability Fund to lower health care costs for New Mexicans. The law allows the Fund to be used to:
- Reduce premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs for New Mexicans who qualify for coverage on BeWell, the state’s Health Insurance Marketplace;
- Reduce premiums for small businesses and their employees;
- Provide resources for planning, design and implementation of health care coverage initiatives for uninsured New Mexico residents; and
- Provide resources for administration of state health care coverage initiatives for uninsured New Mexico residents.
Since July 1, 2024 the Health Care Affordability Fund (HCAF) has been administered by the Health Care Authority.
