New Mexico looks toward Medicaid buy-in coverage

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Democrat-led push to expand health care coverage by allowing almost anyone to buy into Medicaid is gaining ground in New Mexico. The state Legislature is considering initial studies and steps toward opening up access to Medicaid services through a fee to individuals and possibly businesses, amid GOP efforts in Washington to dismantle Obamacare. The concept has the backing of a coalition of local public health advocacy groups. Legislative efforts are being led by Rep. Deborah Armstrong and Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino. Armstrong says the buy-in concept needs to be explored while more than 180,000 state residents remain without insurance. Average marketplace premiums increased 40 percent this year. Sireesha Manne of the Center on Law and Poverty says a Medicaid buy-in plan would build on a trusted platform.