MEDICAID HEALTH PROVIDER COST STUDIES

HB 400 requires New Mexico's Health Care Authority to conduct cost studies every three years for each type of health care provider reimbursed by Medicaid (such as hospitals, clinics, and doctors). These studies must analyze actual costs, including competitive wages and inflation, to recommend fair reimbursement rates. The bill also mandates that the Authority include the latest study in its annual budget requests to the legislature. This applies to all Medicaid-reimbursed providers, ensuring rates better reflect current costs without requiring all studies to be done simultaneously each year. The bill does not change Medicaid eligibility or funding levels but aims to improve how reimbursement rates are set.