Morning Word: Indigent Care Costs Lower

Indigent Care Costs Drop

A new Legislative Finance Committee report shows that the Affordable Care Act is

. In fact, states like New Mexico that expanded Medicaid have seen a 26 percent drop in uncompensated care coverage. Robert Knott reports that hospital requests for reimbursement dollars from a state fund called the “Safety Net Care Pool,” for indigent expenses, shows “more than a 30 percent drop,” according to the LFC analysis.

Mental Health Services Improve

New Mexico is

and has jumped 10 spots in a national ranking. The State of Mental Health in America shows New Mexico improved from 46 to 36 in overall mental health, from 40 to 33 in adult mental health, from 50 to 40 in youth mental health, from 51 to 44 in meeting the needs of consumers and from 27 to 24 in access.

Immigrants Still Hopeful

Immigrants in Santa Fe aren’t giving up home on President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program, despite court setbacks. Some

if the US Supreme Court overturns lower court decisions tossing out the executive order signed by the president last fall.

Martinez Dedicates National Cemetery

Gov. Susana Martinez was in Chaves County for Veterans Day to dedicate a new national cemetery in Ft. Stanton. She says it’s important to have cemeteries closer to the families of deceased veterans. The

and be completed sometime next year. Right now there are only two national cemeteries in New Mexico, one in Santa Fe and one near Silver City.

Homeless Vets Get Help in Santa Fe

A joint effort among the Veterans Administration and nonprofit groups in Santa Fe is working to get the city’s homeless veterans into permanent, government-funded housing. Hank Hughes, of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, says they’ve

. Hughes says they’re still looking to get 10 others placed.

Former Speaker's Plans Uncertain

Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, tells the Albuquerque Journal he’s

if he’s hired to be Bernalillo County attorney. But Martinez says he’ll at least complete his current term. Martinez did not seek a leadership role when Republicans won a majority in the House last year.

Oilfield Layoffs

More than five dozen New Mexico

from Baker Hughes Pressure Pumping in Farmington on Tuesday. The company says its decision to permanently downsize staff is based on slumping oil and gas prices. After the layoffs, the oilfield service company will still employ roughly 250 people.

No Tipping

A new trend is developing at restaurants around the country: no tipping policies. To make it work, restaurant owners are upping their menu prices to cover big boosts in servers’ hourly wages. They claim it reduces staff turnover and

, who often tip more than 20 percent. On Wednesday,

announced it's going to try out the no-tipping policy.

Updated: Rep. Martinez party affliation was corrected from an earlier version of this post.

Santa Fe Reporter