Healthcare in America is under siege. Trump is tearing Medicaid apart while premiums soar to record highs from coast to coast. If these Medicaid cuts go through, New Mexicans will pay the price with longer drives to see a doctor, weeks-long waits for appointments, and a crushing wave of medical debt for families who are already stretched thin. As your Representative for HD-14, Joseph Romero will fight to defend Medicaid, lower costs, and make sure every family in our district can get the care they need close to home.

Lower costs and expand coverage. Joseph will fight for a public coverage option that gives every New Mexican an affordable, reliable plan that doesn’t disappear when they change jobs. He’ll cap out-of-pocket costs, push back on Trump’s plan to let insurers sell plans with deductibles as high as $31,000, and create Medicaid for All Kids so no child in HD-14 goes without care. He’ll ban medical debt from credit reports so a hospital bill can’t cost a family their home or their car, cap prescription drug prices using the best prices available worldwide, end junk fees and surprise billing, and protect the privacy of every patient’s reproductive, gender-affirming, and immigration-related health records.

Fix the doctor and nurse shortage. New Mexico has one of the worst provider shortages in the country, and Joseph will use every tool to fix it. He’ll grow the pool of providers by expanding interstate medical compacts, streamlining licensing for international physicians, and covering the full cost of initial licensure for new providers. He’ll invest in ‘grow your own’ pathways at UNM and expand nursing, CNA, and medical assistant programs across the state. He’ll fight for safe staffing standards for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers so frontline staff aren’t stretched past their limits and patients always get the attention they deserve. He’ll expand loan repayment, housing support, and tax credits for providers who serve rural and Tribal communities.

Counteract Trump’s Medicaid cuts. Nearly half of all New Mexicans depend on Medicaid, and Joseph will not let Washington rip it away. He’ll fight to expand the Medicaid Trust Fund, increase reimbursement rates so providers can afford to keep seeing Medicaid patients, and hire more caseworkers to cut through the red tape Trump created to keep families from enrolling. He’ll close the dental and vision gap for adults on Medicaid, fully fund Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, lower prescription drug prices through state purchasing power, and crack down on fraudulent testing labs that exploit addiction patients for profit.

Bring healthcare close to home. HD-14 families shouldn’t have to drive hours for a doctor’s appointment. Joseph will fight to keep rural hospitals open, expand mobile health clinics and telehealth, and build stable funding models so rural facilities aren’t one bad quarter away from closing. He’ll invest in maternal care by expanding OB-GYN and midwife training, raising Medicaid reimbursement for maternity care, and requiring hospitals to follow evidence-based safety protocols. He’ll defend reproductive healthcare and abortion access, protect immigrant families from being afraid to see a doctor, partner with Tribal Nations to close healthcare gaps in Indian Country, and stand up for veterans, seniors, LGBTQ+ New Mexicans, and people with disabilities who are watching their lifelines cut.

Take healthcare back from Wall Street. New Mexico has the highest share of private equity-owned hospitals and nursing homes in the country, and patients are paying the price. Joseph will keep corporate investors out of clinical decisions, set limits on how much of any local market a single private equity firm can control, and strengthen oversight laws so the state can block acquisitions that hurt patients. He’ll require healthcare entities to disclose who owns them, empower the Attorney General to claw back dividends and fees stripped out before a collapse, and ban the sale-leaseback schemes that have driven hospitals into bankruptcy across the country. He’ll speed up prior authorizations and rein in pharmacy benefit managers who profit by jacking up drug prices.

Protect the air, water, and land that keep us healthy. A healthy New Mexico starts with clean water, clean air, and land free from contamination. Joseph will fight to repair aging drinking water systems in rural towns, Tribal communities, acequias, and colonias, enforce New Mexico’s PFAS and methane laws with real penalties, and bring justice to downwinders and uranium workers still waiting on RECA compensation. He’ll defend SNAP from federal cuts, expand Double Up Food Bucks and school meal programs, and clean up the legacy pollution that has poisoned New Mexico families for generations.

Joseph Romero will show up, do the work, and deliver the healthcare HD-14 families deserve