The law places limits on step therapy policies used by insurance companies that require patients to try less expensive, potentially less effective drugs before they can get coverage for the prescriptions their physicians recommend.
The legislative session is scheduled to end at noon on Thursday, Feb. 15, and the tobacco tax increase bill has not yet received a hearing.
Governor Susana Martinez line-item vetoed all funding to the University of New Mexico, including the nearly $8 million appropriation of state funds to the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center during her actions on House Bill 2, the legislature-approved state budget.
Legislation to raise the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and impose an equivalent tax on other tobacco products including cigars, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes is gaining support and not just from public health groups.
Nearly a hundred cancer patients, survivors and caregivers from across the state rode the rails on a whistle stop-style campaign train ride to the state Capitol in Santa Fe today to meet with lawmakers and gain support for cancer-fighting policies.
The long overdue increase in the tobacco tax will keep thousands of New Mexico kids from smoking, help thousands of adults quit, save the state millions spent on health care, and raise millions more in needed revenue.
New Mexicans suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses face more than just the symptoms of their disease. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) backs legislation introduced today to highlight the critical need for palliative care programs, a growing field of specialized medical care that improves the quality of life of patients and their families by focusing on relief from pain, stress and other symptoms.
New Mexico does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to buy tobacco because it is a known carcinogen. However, under current state law, teens can use tanning devices even though the World Health Organization has classified them as “carcinogenic to humans” – the same category in which they classify tobacco.
States would likely face increased costs and cancer patients and survivors could face delayed preventive, diagnostic and curative care under alternative Medicaid financing models being considered by Congress. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) today sent a letter detailing the organization’s concerns to select governors...
The 18th annual “Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 18 Years Later” was released today and shows New Mexico lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to spending adequate fundin