New Mexico Independent: Comments by Neil Thomas

Neil Thomas — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:48:00 GMT

What would be the definition of expensive? Answer – our current system.

$830,000,000 to insure 400,000 more people for 5 years is SUPER CHEAP. It comes to a little over $400 each person per year!

That’s an 85% discount on what Medicaid manage care contractors currently receive and about 95% LESS than what the USA currently spends per capita.

Show me something cheaper . . .

Neil Thomas — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:08:40 GMT

If everybody has access to primary health care, emergency room visits go down – that’s a no-brainer.
Between my employer and I, we pay nearly $13,000 a year for health insurance for my family of 3. Doesn’t that seem like costs for health care are already high?
(Hint: $13,000 is more than $1200.)

Neil Thomas — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:49:00 GMT

Thank you for writing this – there is so little labor news in NM Media.
State officials always throw out a phrase like “department officials do not comment on pending litigation of personnel matters.”
They are only hiding their own wrongdoing.
Obviously the employee, Mr Ramirez, has been going public on this (Bravo for you!, Phil) and it is the employee who decides (not the employer) if such issues can be made public. See the AFSCME contract Article 17, Section 2.

Neil Thomas — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:15:25 GMT

See many more local maps about socio-economic and health issues in Albuquerque in the documents posted here:
http://www.nmpha.org/Social_Determinants.html

Neil Thomas — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:10:51 GMT

The problems at Fort Bayard are extreme examples of the typical mismanagement of virtually ALL the facilities in the Department of Health. The turnover of workers at some facilities approaches 100% each year. The legislator should take another – closer – look.

Neil Thomas — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:37:02 GMT

Good article and an interesting study.
I wonder, though, just how much mayors (or family and community services directors) know about the health care access issues in their own communities.
It has been shown, for example, the families WITH insurance (public insurance, like Medicaid) often use the emergency room more frequently than families with private insurance or no insurance for some types of services (like acute asthma attacks).
Getting people covered is one thing, KEEPING them covered is another ( e.g., UNMCare – for low-income adults – dis-enrolls people at about the same rate it enrolls them – see http://www.nmpha.org/Social_Determinants.html).
Making the health care system navigable is yet another.
A single payer system would solve all three of these problems, and a couple of hundred other problems as well.

Neil Thomas — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:05:52 GMT

Kudos for New Mexico and our successful needle exchange program.
Nonetheless, the press release is more public relations than surveillance and studiously avoids other points about HIV in NM. To avoid controversy (?), DOH makes no mention that, for example:
Hispanic cases are roughly proportional to the population of Hispanics in the state (also ~45%).
African Americans, in contrast, are disproportionately represented with 5-6% of cases but only ~2% of the population.
The 2006 Surveillance report excludes Native Americans without any explanation.
and (most surprising) CDCs revised estimates might finally bring the CDC numbers in line with those NM has been publishing all along!

Neil Thomas — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:27:09 GMT

To compliment the stories you can read at the SEIU website mentioned above, check out the data regarding health care services at UNM and the issues of access for low income residents at http://hsc.unm.edu/about/community/docs/final_book_englis…

Neil Thomas — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:07:05 GMT

Your “outrage” is out of place. The ‘constant lying’ is coming from distortionists like yourself. Where does your deep-seated fear come from, I wonder?

Read this and calm yourself:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/opinion/22krugman.html

Neil Thomas — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:06:58 GMT

Well, then – check out the numbers comparing the 2 candidates tax plans, and tell me which one you prefer and why:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-082108-…