The Story:
The long pandemic and its dire economic impact through the United States has dramatically changed the politics of health care and how it is to be financed, not only (perhaps not even mostly) at the federal level, but also in the politics of the several states. New Mexico offers an example.
A Surtax:
The New Mexico legislature has under consideration a bill that would place a state surtax on insurance premiums, substituting for a slightly smaller federal fees that expired last year. The proceeds of this fee would gain the state an estimated $153 million in annual revenue. Of this, $38 million would go into the general fund; the remaining $115 million would go toward lowering consumer costs for the insurance New Mexicans can buy through the state-sponsored exchange, an outgrowth of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) of 2010.
Other states that have enacted a similar fee include: Colorado, Delaware, and New Jersey.
In Pill Form:
The Governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democratic with a center-left reputation, was the state’s Health Secretary from 2004 to 2007. Last year she was on the short list of those now-President Biden was considering for the Vice Presidential spot on his ticket. The Grisham administration supports the health insurance premium surtax, formally HB 122.
