Supporters say the proposal would increase accountability for large hospital systems while opponents warn of impacts on providers

Organ Mountain News report

SANTA FE - Patient advocacy organizations are urging lawmakers to advance an amended version of House Bill 99, legislation that would make targeted changes to New Mexico’s Medical Malpractice Act as debate continues over accountability, provider protections and access to care.

The bill cleared its first committee stop earlier this month after the House Health and Human Services Committee adopted and upheld amendments by a 7–3 vote. The proposal remains under consideration as the legislative session continues.

Supporters say the amended bill would allow juries to hold large hospital corporations accountable for patient harm in cases involving egregious conduct, while maintaining existing protections for individual physicians and small rural hospitals through limits on punitive damages.

Among the supporters is Johana Bencomo, who serves as executive director of the advocacy group New Mexico Safety Over Profit and represents District 4 on the Las Cruces City Council, where she also serves as mayor pro tem.

“Our movement has always been about social justice,” Bencomo said in a statement released by the organization. “It is about amplifying the voices of people who are already struggling to get ahead and who go to doctors or hospitals expecting their best interests to come first. Too many leave with their worlds shattered because corporate health care has cut costs and corners at the expense of their health or that of their spouses, children and loved ones.”

Several New Mexico-based organizations signed a letter to legislators following testimony from medical malpractice survivors during the committee hearing. Supporters argue that hospital consolidation and private equity ownership have contributed to higher rates of patient harm, physician burnout and reduced investment in local communities.

The advocacy push comes as hospital systems and related entities increase spending on advertising and political messaging during the legislative session. Reporting by New Mexico In Depth, based on publicly available Federal Communications Commission filings, shows Presbyterian Health Services and Presbyterian Health Plan have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on New Mexico radio and television advertising tied to health care policy debates.

Opponents of HB 99, including hospital and medical industry groups, have warned that changes to malpractice liability could affect insurance costs and physician recruitment, particularly in rural parts of the state. Supporters counter that the amended bill is narrowly tailored and does not remove malpractice protections for individual providers.

If approved by the Legislature, HB 99 would not change whether patients can file malpractice claims but would clarify how and when punitive damages may be applied, with supporters saying the intent is to focus accountability on large corporate health care systems rather than individual clinicians.

HB 99 has not yet received a floor vote and could be further amended as it moves through the legislative process.