On Thursday, Oct. 30, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Meeting with a keynote address from James Capretta. The event was held at the event center at Sandia Golf Club to nearly 300 business and community members.
Terri Cole, GACC president and CEO, and Peter Lorenz, chairman of the board, kicked off the meeting with exciting recognition of members and a warm welcome to new members. The program then featured keynote speaker James Capretta, who delivered an educational and informative address on health care, offering a deep dive into current challenges and potential solutions for the industry.
Capretta is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and his address was titled “Health Care Policy in a Time of Uncertainty.”
Peter Lorenz, GACC chair and Unirac CEO, said access to affordable health care is a tough challenge that every single member of our community faces today.
“We recognize we cannot solve a complex problem like health care easily,” Lorenz said. “But we want to start the conversation and educate all the stakeholders on the real facts.”
Capretta discussed New Mexico’s health care landscape.
“The topic is health care policy in a time of uncertainty,” Capretta said. “And I think just following the news on a day-to-day basis, everyone can agree things are turbulent and changing and uncertain, and so how to navigate it? I think that there might be some particular problems here in Albuquerque and the rest of the state, the 2025 federal policy landscape, adding to the turbulence and uncertainty.”
Capretta highlighted the state’s high Medicaid enrollment at 34% compared to the national average of 20%, and lower health care costs which is $8,900 per capita, compared to the U.S. average of $10,000, as of 2023 data.
“The uninsured rate in the state is similar to the national average, and Medicare is pretty close to the national average as well,” he explained. “Though the state does have and is not well known as having a somewhat higher retiree population than the national average. So, what does this mean? What is the implication of it? I think it gets to the heart of, can you build a viable delivery infrastructure on an exorbitant amount or a higher than normal amount of public insurance, especially if it’s Medicaid, that to the higher, to the degree that you have more Medicaid and less employer coverage, you’re relying on state reimbursement and state revenue levels and the idiosyncrasies of a political process to provide reimbursement for the provider community?”
Capretta gave some points of how to begin to make changes within the state’s health care system:
- Engage with state and local policymakers to advocate for health care policies that support business needs.
- Monitor federal health care policy developments and assess potential impacts on New Mexico.
- Review plan design strategies to incentivize use of high-quality, low-cost health care providers.
- Explore implementing direct primary care options for employees.
Capretta broke down the cost of health care in New Mexico by saying that the state spends less per capita compared to the national average.
He attributed the lower cost due to the difficulty in accessing care, as people may rely more on emergency rooms due to long travel distances.
He said because the cost of emergency room departments is much higher than the national average, lawmakers and state officials need to look for more accessible primary care to reduce reliance on emergency rooms.
“People rely more on emergency rooms, and it’s, frankly, too high in the country as a whole, and even in New Mexico, it’s even higher than the national average,” he said. “That’s probably showing a tendency to rely too much on going to the hospital instead of an accessible, direct primary care physician. Somewhere along the way, a big outlier here is nursing homes. I don’t know the answer. I’m sure there’s someone in the room who does, but nursing home use is fairly substantially below the national average here in New Mexico.”
Capretta explained some of the federal policy changes, which are:
A new community participation requirement in Medicaid starting in 2027.
The savings provisions in the new law, such as the hassle factor of reporting work hours to the government.
The provider tax change and its impact on state revenue for Medicaid, as well as restrictions on non-citizen enrollment and cost-sharing.
The Affordable Care Act changes, including more restricted eligibility and requirements for special enrollment periods.
Because New Mexico is a rural state, Capretta discussed the Rural Health Transformation Fund, which provides $50 billion to states to adjust their rural health delivery processes.
He emphasized the importance of creative thinking and reforms to make rural health delivery more sustainable.
“States need to take advantage of this funding to improve rural health care,” he said.
He noted that the program is a five-year initiative, with potential for extension based on its success.
Prior to finishing, Capretta left the audience with ideas for strategies for improving health care. He said changes are needed to include price transparency, plan design and direct primary care.
He explained the importance of price transparency in making health care more affordable and reducing abuse.
“This (health care) debate is never ending,” Capretta said. “In the United States, there’ll be another round. I don’t know when, three, four or five years from now, something will precipitate another big bill and it’s really important for the employer community who has got the workforce in view, has their communities in view, has efficiency and innovation mentality in view, your perspective is vital. So, I would encourage you to stay involved.”
To view Capretta’s presentation, click here.
