2015 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 27 - Public Assistance
Section 5 Indigent Hospital and County Health Care
Section 27-5-6 Powers and duties of counties relating to indigent care.

27-5-6. Powers and duties of counties relating to indigent care.

A county:

A. may budget for expenditure on ambulance services, burial expenses, hospital or medical expenses for indigent residents of that county and for costs of development of a countywide or multi county health plan. The combined costs of administration and planning shall not exceed the following percentages of revenues based on the previous fiscal year revenues for a fund that has existed for at least one fiscal year or based on projected revenues for the year being budgeted for a fund that has existed for less than one fiscal year. The percentage of the revenues in the fund that may be used for such combined administrative and planning costs is equal to the sum of the following:

(1) ten percent of the amount of the revenues in the fund not over five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000);

(2) eight percent of the amount of the revenues in the fund over five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) but not over one million dollars ($1,000,000); and

(3) four and one-half percent of the amount of the revenues in the fund over one million dollars ($1,000,000);

B. may accept contributions of public funds for county health care services, which shall be deposited in the fund;

C. may hire personnel to carry out the provisions of the Indigent Hospital and County Health Care Act;

D. shall transfer to the state by the last day of March, June, September and December of each year an amount equal to one-fourth of the county's payment pursuant to Section 16 of this 2014 act [27-5-6.2 NMSA 1978]. This money shall be deposited in the safety net care pool fund;

E. shall, in carrying out the provisions of the Indigent Hospital and County Health Care Act, comply with the standards of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996;

F. may provide for the transfer of money from the fund to the county-supported medicaid fund to meet the requirements of the Statewide Health Care Act [27-10-1 through 27-10-4 NMSA 1978]; and

G. may contract with ambulance providers, hospitals or health care providers for the provision of services for indigent patients domiciled within the county.

History: 1953 Comp., 13-2-17, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 234, 6; 1979, ch. 146, 2; 1983, ch. 234, 3; 1987, ch. 88, 3; 1991, ch. 212, 20; 1993, ch. 321, 6; 1997, ch. 51, 3; 1999, ch. 37, 3; 2003, ch. 413, 3; 2014, ch. 79, 7.