Patients share stories to push for healthcare system improvements.
Across New Mexico, access to health care has grown more difficult as the number of doctors continues to decline. For many residents, getting an appointment means waiting months or driving hours. Lawmakers and medical professionals have debated how to fix the problem through healthcare reform, but a new organization believes the best answers will come from the patients themselves. The nonprofit Patient-Led NM was created earlier this year to give ordinary people a chance to tell their stories about struggling to get medical care. The group is organizing public summits across the state where patients, health leaders, and policymakers can meet face-to-face. Its founders believe the stories will show how policy choices have shaped the state’s health care problems and where change is needed most.
Annie Jung, executive director of the New Mexico Medical Society and one of the group’s founders, said the effort grew from years of frustration in determining the best way to tackle reform. She said that state decisions have made it harder for doctors to practice and for patients to find care. “We want to make sure patients are at the center of the conversation,” she said in an interview.
Jung and other organizers say the group’s mission is about more than storytelling. They hope to use the information gathered to push for changes in how New Mexico handles licensing, malpractice laws, and taxes that affect health care providers. One major goal is to join national compacts that allow medical professionals to work more easily across state lines. Doctors in New Mexico have long said strict licensing rules and high malpractice costs are pushing them elsewhere.
The state’s doctor shortage has been years in the making. Many rural areas have seen clinics close or shrink their hours, leaving residents with few local options. Hospitals have struggled to fill key positions, and some patients have traveled out of state for even basic care. These gaps have led to longer wait times and more strain on remaining providers.
Patient-Led NM says it wants to focus attention on these real-life barriers. On its website, patients have already shared stories about canceled appointments, delayed surgeries, and parents who can’t find specialists for their children. One woman described driving four hours to see an obstetrician during pregnancy. Another patient said she waited nearly a year to see a neurologist.
Troy Clark, president of the New Mexico Hospital Association, said the effort helps people connect policy details to personal struggles. “The everyday person doesn’t think about malpractice laws or licensing compacts when they’re trying to see a doctor,” he said. “But those issues affect everything about access.”
Other partners include the Sacramento Mountains Foundation and the Greater Albuquerque Medical Association. Sacramento Mountains Foundation CEO John Wheeler described the project as grassroots and people-driven. “When individuals share their stories, it becomes impossible to ignore the real impact of these decisions,” he said in a statement.
The summits, scheduled through December, will be held in Grants, Albuquerque, Taos, and Las Cruces, with a virtual option for those unable to travel. Each meeting will feature patients speaking directly to lawmakers and medical leaders, followed by discussions on possible reform solutions. Topics include malpractice reform, reimbursement rates, and tax relief to help smaller clinics stay open.
Organizers hope the meetings will help shape bills for next year’s legislative session. Lawmakers from both parties have already said they expect medical licensing and malpractice to be major issues. Republican members, in particular, have argued that current laws make it too risky for physicians to stay in the state, while some Democrats have called for more creative ways to attract and retain providers.
Jung said the goal is not to point fingers but to push for balance. “Every New Mexican has a story,” she said. “Some are about life-threatening emergencies, others are about long waits or short appointments. But together, they show that people here want the same thing—timely, quality care close to home.”
The group hopes that by next year, lawmakers will carry those stories into the state Capitol and craft changes that give patients a stronger voice in how health care is delivered across New Mexico.
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New nonprofit aims to elevate patient voices amid doctor shortage in New Mexico
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