Health Care & Wellness

Health care is a fundamental right and our goal must be to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable care, no matter their means or where they’re from.

New Mexico faces significant health challenges, including access to care in rural and tribal communities, limited mental health services, and an opioid addiction epidemic. Our state can’t afford to see the impacts of reckless repeal of the Affordable Care Act or efforts to dismantle our nation’s health care system and gut Medicare and Medicaid.

As a proud supporter of the Affordable Care Act, I know prevention and early intervention are cost effective and lead to healthier families. Health insurance, prevention, and value for your health care dollars are at the heart of the health reform law. I am committed to working with anyone, regardless of party, to advance measures that improve health care access, quality, and affordability. The goal of revising the ACA should be to lower costs for those who already have health benefits and expand access to those who do not currently have coverage.

Latest

  • New Mexico Delegation Unveils Legislation to Rename Las Cruces Veterans Clinic to Honor Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Bataan Death March

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) announced legislation to officially designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community outpatient clinic in Las Cruces as the "Las Cruces Bataan Memorial Clinic." Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Vote to Reverse Trump Admin. Effort to Roll Back Pre-Existing Condition Protections for Millions of Americans

    WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) voted to void the Trump administration's recent rule issuing waivers to allow "junk plans" that do not offer full protections for preexisting conditions and fail to provide adequate health insurance. The Trump administration’s rule allows using waivers under section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to sabotage Americans’ health care and undermine the critical pre-existing condition protections that more than 130 million Americans rely on, including hundreds of thousands in New Mexico. Despite Udall, Heinrich, and Senate Democrats’ vote to safeguard protections for pre-existing conditions, Senate Republicans voted to preserve the Trump administration’s “junk plans” rule. Read More

  • New Mexico Delegation Announces HHS Grant to Taos for Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Development

    WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded $2,982,779 to Taos Health Systems, Inc. in New Mexico as part of the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program. $9 million was awarded in total to address health disparities in rural communities by expanding patient access to care. Read More

  • New Mexico Delegation Welcome $4.7 Million To Combat Opioid Overdose Epidemic

    September 2, 2019) - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small, along with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $4,764005 to the New Mexico Department of Health to combat the opioid overdose epidemic. Read More

  • New Mexico Delegation Announces Funding to Help Study and Eliminate Maternal Mortality

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is awarding the New Mexico Department of Health $298,989 for the state's agencies and organizations that coordinate and manage Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs). The funding is awarded through the CDC’s Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program and will be used to study maternal mortality cases and identify prevention practices that can put a stop to these tragic deaths. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Slam Trump Administration Proposal To Weaken Protections Against Discrimination In Health Care

    August 14, 2019) - Yesterday, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined 34 fellow Democratic senators to submit a comment letter for the record to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar criticizing the Trump Administration's proposed rule to weaken critical protections that help address discrimination in health care. The senators outlined several issues with the proposed rule, including how it could harm patients who already face barriers when seeking care by emboldening insurers and health care providers to discriminate against them, and called on the Trump Administration to withdraw the proposal. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Call for Reversal of Trump Plan to Cut Nutrition Aid to 3 Million Americans

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined a group of 19 Senators and 120 U.S. Representatives to demand that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) withdraw its disastrous plan to kick an estimated 3.1 million Americans off of food assistance, including tens of thousands of New Mexicans. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, the lawmakers urged USDA to reverse course and rescind its proposal, which would raise serious barriers to food access for working families across New Mexico.   Read More

  • NM Delegation Announces $6 Million to Combat New Mexico’s Opioid Crisis

    WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded more than $6 million in funding to New Mexico to combat the opioid epidemic in communities across the state. The funding will go toward treatment, prevention, recovery, and research efforts throughout New Mexico. Read More

  • After mass shootings, gun law debate heats up

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The debate over guns is one that is very divisive, and one that many people are passionate about. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich says he is a hunter and believes in protecting the rights of law abiding gun owners. Read More

  • Udall, Heinrich Introduce Resolution to Save Pre-Existing Condition Protections From Harmful Trump Administration Rule Pushing Junk Plans

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined House and Senate Democrats in unveiling a resolution that would roll back the "1332 waiver" rule, which is another Trump administration effort to sabotage Americans' health care and another attack on the 130 million Americans who rely on the critical pre-existing condition protections the administration is trying to eliminate.  The Trump administration rule, if left in place, would allow states to greenlight substandard, junk insurance plans that don’t fully protect people with pre-existing conditions, don’t cover essential health benefits like prescription drugs and maternity coverage, and raise costs on many American families. Under the Congressional Review Act, Udall and Heinrich’s resolution must be considered within 60 legislative days of July 15 and can pass the Senate with the support of a simple majority of senators.    Read More