New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 5 / March 10, 2026
NOTICE OF RULEMAKING
The New Mexico Health Care Authority (HCA), through the Medical Assistance Division (MAD), is proposing to amend the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) 8.308.21, Managed Care Program, Quality Management.
Section
9-8-6 NMSA 1978, authorizes the Department Secretary to promulgate rules and
regulations that may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Department and its divisions.
Notice Date: March 10, 2026
Hearing Date: April 10, 2026
Adoption Date: Proposed
as July 1, 2026
Technical Citations: LOD #65 CI Regulations Updates
HCA received
feedback from the Turquoise Managed Care Organizations regarding
the
administrative
burden of the critical incident reporting criteria. After HCA’s analysis, HCA is proposing to
eliminate the Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Environmental Hazard
reporting categories. Additionally, HCA
will be revising the requirements for reporting insufficient staffing
incidents. HCA is expecting this
revision to reduce reportable incidents by more than 50%. The updates will reduce administrative burden
for mandatory reporters of critical
incidents and ensure that reportable incidents are truly critical. These incidents will remain reportable if
they involve abuse, neglect, exploitation, misuse or unauthorized use of
restrictive interventions or seclusion,
or a
medication error by a provider
resulting in contact
with a poison control
center, an emergency
department visit, an urgent care visit, a hospitalization, or death.
NMAC 8.308.21
Section
8 has been updated to include
the Departments current
mission statement.
Section 13 has been updated to remove reporting categories to include any incident involving
the utilization of emergency services, hospitalization, the involvement
with law enforcement, and exposure to or the potential of exposure to
environmental hazards that compromise health and safety.
Section
13 has been updated to add reporting categories to include the misuse or
unauthorized use of restrictive interventions or seclusion on a member. A
medication error resulting in a telephone call to or consultation with a poison
control center by or on behalf of the member, an emergency department visit,
urgent care visit, a hospitalization, or death of the member.
Throughout the NMAC
the following changes
have been made:
1.
Revising references to “his or her” to “their” or “the member”.
2.
Changed HSD to HCA.
These
proposed rule changes will be contained in 8.308.21 NMAC. This
register and the proposed rule are available on the HCA website at: https://www.hca.nm.gov/lookingforinformation/registers/
and https://www.hca.nm.gov/2026-comment-period-closed/ If you do not have internet access, a
copy of the proposed register
and rule may be requested by contacting MAD at (505) 827-1337.
The HCA proposes implementing this rule effective July 1, 2026.
A
public hearing to receive testimony on this proposed rule
will be held on April 10, 2026, at
10:00 am.
The hearing will be held at the Administrative Services
Division (ASD), 1474 Rodeo
Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87505 and via Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/21210098758081?p=2VbxsLp6hic2NLItw9
Meeting ID: 212 100 987 580 81
Passcode: 92CB78jM
Dial in by phone
+1 505-312-4308,,516228109# United States, Albuquerque
Phone conference ID: 516 228 109#
If
you are a person with a disability and you require this information in an alternative format or require special accommodation to
participate in the public hearing, please contact the Medical Assistance Division
(MAD) in Santa Fe at (505) 827-1337. The HCA requests at least
ten (10) working days advance notice to
provide requested alternative formats and special accommodations.
Copies
of all comments will be made available by MAD upon request by providing copies
directly to a requestor or by making
them available on the MAD website or at a location within the county of the requestor.
Interested persons
may address written
comments to:
New Mexico
Health Care Authority Office of the Secretary
ATTN: Medical
Assistance Division Public
Comments
P.O. Box 2348
Santa Fe, New Mexico
87504-2348
Recorded
comments may be left at (505) 827-1337. Interested persons may also address
comments via electronic mail to: HCA-madrules@hca.nm.gov. Written mail, electronic mail and recorded comments must be
received no later than 5 p.m. MT on
April 10, 2026.
Written and recorded comments
will be given the same consideration as oral testimony made at the public
hearing.
All written comments received will be posted as they are received
on the HCA website at https://www.hca.nm.gov/lookingforinformation/registers/
and https://www.hca.nm.gov/2026-comment-period-closed/ along with the
applicable register and rule. The public posting will include the
name and any contact information provided by the commenter.