Launching the state’s Health Care Authority was one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s many goals for the 2024 legislative session, but legislators also passed bills to subsidize rural hospitals, get more money for emergency medical services and more. 

The Health Care Authority is a new state agency launching in July that merges the New Mexico Human Services Department, the State Employee Benefits team, the Developmental Disabilities Supports Division, the Division of Health Improvement and the Health Care Affordability Fund. Lujan Grisham signed SB14 on Friday to redirect some functions of other agencies to the Health Care Authority.