Lujan Grisham signs malpractice reform, health bills at Valencia County Hospital site

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a package of medical-malpractice and health-care bills Friday at the construction site of the forthcoming 15‑bed Valencia County Hospital in Los Lunas, securing a state pledge of $50 million and underscoring plans for the hospital to open later this year. The ceremony gathered a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and medical leaders to link legislative changes to immediate local investments in access.

At the top of the package was the medical-malpractice reform identified by KKOB as House Bill 99. KKOB said HB 99 "will rein in skyrocketing medical malpractice claims, protect patients’ ability to seek compensation for harm and help expand the number of doctors practicing in New Mexico." At the signing, the governor framed the measure as a balance: "This was an incredible herculean lift because you want to protect patients, but we have to change the climate of practice." Exact statutory language, cap amounts and effective dates for HB 99 were not detailed at the event.

Also signed was House Bill 306, which Source New Mexico and the Santa Fe New Mexican describe as banning hospitals from directly charging patients "facility fees" for preventive outpatient care, outpatient vaccinations and telehealth services. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported HB 306's elimination of those fees will begin in 2027, while inpatient and emergency facility fees remain allowable. The fiscal-impact summary cited by the Santa Fe New Mexican lists rural exceptions that will still be able to charge facility fees, including Los Alamos Medical Center, Presbyterian Española Hospital, Holy Cross Medical Center in Taos and Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas, N.M.

House Bill 4 was signed to increase distributions from the state Health Care Affordability Fund, a move Santa Fe New Mexican coverage said is intended to reduce premiums for individual plans sold through the BeWell exchange and protect access for tens of thousands of New Mexicans. Senate Bill 101, identified by KKOB, repeals the sunset clause in the Health Care Delivery and Access Act, ensuring continued financial support for eligible hospitals that serve Medicaid members.

The governor tied the policy package to workforce and access problems in New Mexico, noting long wait times for primary care: "We can’t make New Mexico the No. 1 place to move and raise and grow a family if you are waiting more than a year to see a primary care doctor." After presenting the bills at the hospital site, she told lawmakers gathered at her table that this "in fact was a health care session," and Source New Mexico noted she left open the possibility of "a little more work" on compacts before leaving office.

For Valencia County, the immediate next steps are concrete: construction continues on the 15‑bed acute care facility that state officials say will receive $50 million in backing and is expected to open later this year. Policy implementation will roll forward on staggered timelines - HB 306’s facility-fee ban is slated to start in 2027 per reporting, HB 99’s malpractice changes await published statutory details, and SB 101 preserves funding streams for Medicaid-serving hospitals. Lawmakers and hospital administrators will now face the task of translating the signed measures into rules, budget disbursements and operational changes that patients in Los Lunas and surrounding communities will feel at clinic checkouts and in reduced wait times for primary care.