Between 2017 and 2021, New Mexico lost 30% of its primary care providers, according to a 2023 report by the New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee, a group of stakeholders within state agencies and health care organizations. New Mexico also experienced the second largest increase in malpractice premium costs in the nation from 2021 to 2022, according to a study by the American Medical Association.
While the Bureau of Health Workforce has not designated Los Alamos as a Health Professional Shortage Area, the number of medical providers in the county is declining. And as the population of Los Alamos continues to increase, wait times for appointments have increased as well, forcing many residents to look for providers in other counties or even in other states.
Many health care professionals believe this number of departures may have increased significantly following the passage of state laws that raised caps on medical malpractice damages. Prior to the legislation, first signed into law…
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