This year, legislators made changes to the law to restrict the use of step therapy, particularly in the context of drugs used to treat cancer and autoimmune disorders.
The implementation of state laws in New Mexico will commence in the new year, which will facilitate the acquisition of specific medications and reduce personal income taxes. A new law will impede the eligibility of certain individuals for food benefits.
The following regulations, which were recently enacted, will be effective on January 1. The state agency responsible for their implementation has compiled the following information that is essential to be aware of.
Revenue and Taxation Department
“The Taxation and Revenue Department’s spokesperson, Charlie Moore, stated that the state tax code, which was amended by House Bill 252 earlier this year, will result in a reduction in the amount of taxes paid by all individuals, with a particular emphasis on those in the low- and middle-income brackets.”
For example, a married couple with $50,000 in income who file jointly could save $303 annually, according to him. Compared to the current structure, which consisted of five brackets, there will now be six brackets, with rates spanning from 1.5% to 5.9%, he stated.
In the past, individuals who were unmarried and earned between $16,000 and $210,000 annually were taxed at the same rate, which was nearly 5% of their income.
Authority for Health Care
Companies that provide primary care, mental health care, and maternal and infant health care will be eligible for increased reimbursements as a result of a portion of the state government’s annual budget that was approved earlier this year.
Companies will be reimbursed at 150% of the rate they typically receive from the Health Care Authority through Medicare, and lawmakers allocated over $28 million for this purpose.
The Health Care Authority is also responsible for the supervision of the food benefits program, which will undergo modifications for certain individuals in the upcoming year.
Some New Mexicans who receive food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be required to demonstrate that they are employed full-time, volunteering, interning, or attending school in order to continue receiving these benefits.
SNAP recipients who are not disabled and do not have any dependents will be impacted by the new federally mandated work requirements.
The work requirements are restricted to individuals residing in the Pueblos of San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Santa Clara, and Laguna, as well as in the counties of Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Eddy, and Los Alamos.
The labor requirements will be applicable to nearly 12,000 New Mexicans in total.
Superintendent of Insurance’s Office
This year, lawmakers amended the Health Care Purchasing Act to restrict the utilization of step therapy. Step therapy is the process by which insurance companies and the pharmacy benefit management companies that administer their prescriptions decline to cover a particular drug until the patient has exhausted less expensive alternatives.
The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, the state’s insurance regulator, was already authorized to evaluate and appeal a health insurer’s denial of a request for an exception to step protocols..
The new law mandates that insurers authorize these types of pharmaceuticals for the full duration of their therapeutic effect, which is five years.
It also mandates that insurers authorize a prescription subject to step protocols in the event that an individual loses their employer-provided insurance.
The new law also eliminates the necessity for physicians to obtain prior authorization from insurers in order to prescribe autoimmune disorders and cancer treatments, with the exception of instances in which a generic alternative is accessible.
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