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Legislators press agencies as medication-assisted-treatment rollout lags for justice-involved New Mexicans
Summary
Legislators at the Legislative Health & Human Services committee heard that while the legislature has appropriated roughly $136.2 million for MAT services since 2023, agencies have rolled out services slowly; corrections began offering MAT in Jan. 2025 but has reached only a fraction of people estimated to need it. Members asked for spending plans and urged letters to agencies.
A legislative committee on Jan. 29 heard that New Mexico’s efforts to expand medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for people in the justice system have lagged despite substantial state appropriations.
Dr. Allegra Hernandez, presenting a Legislative Finance Committee brief, told the Legislative Health & Human Services committee that the legislature has appropriated about $136,200,000 for MAT services since 2023 but that agencies have deployed the funds slowly. "MAT individuals who use MAT are less likely to die, overdose, or continue to use opioids," Hernandez said, summarizing evidence for the treatment’s effectiveness.
Hernandez said the New Mexico Corrections Department began providing MAT in January 2025 and so far 177 individuals have received treatment — roughly 8.8% of the number the department’s survey estimates need it. The corrections survey estimates that 36% of state inmates (about 2,000 people) require MAT services, she said, and that corrections will not offer MAT to people who need it but are not already on MAT until at least July 1, 2026.
Committee members pressed for explanations about unspent appropriations. Representative Pamela Herndon said the situation was intolerable: "This is absolutely unacceptable that we see all of these agencies that have been awarded money to help with addiction and opioid treatment, and not a penny of it has been spent," she said, and recommended sending "strongly worded letters" to agencies to demand spending plans.
Members also raised access problems in county jails and rural areas. Hernandez said county jails lack a consistent policy; some report high provision of MAT while others report no tracking or no services. She told members that a shortage of prescribers and unwillingness among private physicians to provide MAT in some areas are obstacles and that telehealth through the Department of Health can mitigate shortages in some locations.
On juvenile services, Hernandez noted national research showing a sharp rise in opioid-related youth deaths between 2018 and 2023 (a roughly 280% increase nationally) and said New Mexico lacks good tracking for youth MAT. The University of New Mexico’s Adobe program provides MAT to 11 children in Bernalillo County, she said, and juvenile treatment courts have declined to three operating statewide.
Committee members asked for specific follow-up materials: breakdowns of how corrections and other agencies intend to use appropriations, detailed spending histories for prior years’ allocations, and data on juvenile facilities that are not yet providing MAT. The committee asked staff to draft letters to the Health Care Authority, Corrections Department and University of New Mexico seeking timelines and explanations for unspent funds.
The committee did not take a formal vote during the hearing; members described the direction as oversight and information requests and asked staff to draft correspondence to the named agencies. The Health Care Authority and Corrections Department were not present to deliver a spending plan during the briefing.
What comes next: committee members said they will move forward with written requests to agencies and may pursue legislation or stronger oversight if spending and rollout do not accelerate.
