Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

The way long-term care providers in New Mexico see it, Gov. Bill Richardson likes to show who is boss in their state. Three days after television ads critical of Richardson’s legislative healthcare agenda began running, his administration called for audits of all of the state’s nursing homes.

The New Mexico Health Care Association began running the ads to criticize Richardson’s plan to add a bed tax. The ads say the surcharge would jack up costs to residents by nearly $9 per bed per day. Administration officials said the tax is necessary to garner much needed additional federal matching funding.

Top state health officials called for the audit of nursing home finances, they said, to determine whether Medicaid money went toward financing the TV ads. The ad program cost $15,000 to $20,000, according to nursing home association.


New Mexico Health Care Association Executive Director Linda Sechovec, however, noted that state officials should already have all the information they need since regular audits have been taking place “for years.” Medicaid pays for about 80% of New Mexico’s 6,000 nursing home residents, one state official estimated.