Governor Lujan Grisham’s Election Promises of 2018 and 2022, Belie Neglect of Developmentally Disabled Community
2018 – An Election Year Promise: “Build system capacity to provide services to 4,500 people with developmental disabilities and their families, who currently have to wait more than a decade …”
On October 23, 2018, two weeks before being elected Governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham released her nine-point plan to build a “Healthcare System that Works for all New Mexicans.”
“Michelle’s Action Plan to Make High-quality Healthcare Accessible to all New Mexicans” consisted of nine steps – including two (numbered 8 and 9), focused on the needs of intellectually and developmentally disabled New Mexicans and their families.
“8. Prioritize policies that meet the needs of New Mexico’s most vulnerable populations, including children, seniors, persons with disabilities, Native Americans, immigrants, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“9. Build system capacity to provide services to 4,500 people with developmental disabilities and their families, who currently have to wait more than a decade to receive services through the Developmental Disabilities (DD) waiver program, and seek a support services waiver to help provide some temporary relief to families on the waiting list.”
January 2019 – December 2022, Administration of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
On January 1, 2029, Michelle Lujan Grisham took the reins of the Executive branch of New Mexico state government.
When the new Governor submitted her budget recommendations to the Legislature that year, she inherited a surplus in revenue, or “new money,” of close to a billion dollars.
During the first three years of the Lujan Grisham administration, some progress was made relative to her campaign promises to the DD Waiver community.
But her policy makers fell seriously short in “building system capacity” of the Developmental Disabilities (DD) waiver programs for existing clients, while adding thousands from the waiting list to the program.
The slowness of the Lujan Grisham administration’s to address the DD waiver deficiencies was not due to the lack of financial resources, as the new Governor was provided a boatload of what is considered “new money” in the legislature’s budget-making process.
The state had more than $6.8 billion of new state money during her first term of office – and from 2019 to projections for 2025, the state’s new money has totaled $11.7 Billion in additional state revenue.
For most of her first and second terms as Governor, that new state money represented an unprecedented flood in additional financial resources – due, in part, to a surge in oil and gas royalties, related state revenue (GRT) growth, and increased returns on state investment funds.
Despite the positive spin the administration puts on Lujan Grisham’s use of those new revenues in enhancing services and new programs, intellectually and developmentally disabled New Mexicans, among the most vulnerable residents of the state, did not receive the resources they needed and that she promised in 2018.
The administration and political allies are quick to offer excuses for the anemic effort to address serious problems with the delivery of sufficient services to the DD Waiver community.
They point out that the COVID epidemic had an impact on progress.
(Look for new reporting from The Candle regarding problems at the Developmental Disabilities Supports Division, the Division of Health Improvement, and other protection agencies, that likely contributed to the abuse of Mary Melero between 2018 and the Spring of 2023, when she died, allegedly from complications related to the horrific abuse she suffered).
As it turned out, during the intervening COVID years, New Mexico was awash in additional revenue due to the federal government’s response to COVID.
From the last year of the first Trump administration, and especially throughout the Biden administration, the Governor and her team were handed more than $7 billion dollars in additional federal funding.
The Federal CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, and related Workforce Development programs provided opportunities for changes to services and new programs through nearly 2,400 projects – but not so much for the DD Waiver community.
(In upcoming reporting, The Candle will show how special interests, such as some of the biggest film studios in the United States, businesses connected to politicians, and other investments in questionable “economic development” schemes, were provide funding over the needs of New Mexicans traditionally marginalized by politicians on both sides of the aisle.)
2022 – Another Election Year and a New Promise: “Eliminate the waitlist for the Developmental Disabilities Waiver and expanding services.“
Fast forward about four years, and on April 28, 2022, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced the end of the decades old Jackson Lawsuit that was brought on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities who had been denied protections and services.
In announcing the conclusion of the litigation, the Governor’s media team released a statement claiming:
“While it is remarkably gratifying to finally reach closure in such long-running litigation, the true winners in this case are the vulnerable New Mexicans and their families who are finally receiving the support they deserve,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham.
““This issue is one that’s close to my heart. No family should be without the support they need, which is why my administration has focused on fixing the system, including delivering funding to eliminate the waitlist for the Developmental Disabilities Waiver and expanding services. This decision is an affirmation of the importance and success of that work.”
The Governor’s media team ended the press release with:
“… Above all, the state will continue to work to ensure that vulnerable New Mexicans and their families receive the resources they need to live healthy, happy, productive and meaningful lives.”
That promise, “the state will continue to work to ensure that vulnerable New Mexicans and their families receive the resources they need,” was released in the middle Lujan Grisham’s re-election campaign,
Lujan Grisham Refuses to Provide Necessary Nursing Care for Medically Fragile Children in New Mexico
Interestingly, the same day Lujan Grisham announced the end of the Jackson lawsuit, her administration was sued in Federal Court by attorneys representing three medically fragile children (as lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit) – all of whom are clients of one of the DD Waiver programs.
The litigation was filed by attorneys from the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and Disability Rights New Mexico, on behalf of the three mothers of these children, due to failure of state agencies to provide services and guard against the discrimination of disabled persons.
The complaint states, among other things, that:
“By failing to take necessary action to arrange for medically necessary private duty nursing services, Defendant Scrase has discriminated against qualified individuals with disabilities, such as Plaintiffs and Class members … and has subjected Plaintiffs, Class members and other qualified individuals with disabilities to the risk of unnecessary institutionalization. Defendant Scrase’s actions are in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,29 U.S.C. § 794.
The lawsuit alleged, among other things, discrimination and harm done to these children due to failure by the Human Services Department (now the Health Care Authority), and Managed Care Organizations contracted by the state, to provide private duty nursing services critically necessary for the care of plaintiffs and class members.
The three children were identified and their diagnoses were described in the lawsuit as follows,
- Plaintiff A.C. “is a nine-year-old girl diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, epilepsy, and global developmental delays” and who “experiences seizures every day, often requiring oxygen assistance and an emergency intervention plan for seizure activity lasting longer than 5 minutes…”
- NOTE: About a year later, on May 12, 2023, Amariz Cortez, Plaintiff A.C., died. Her parents wrote at that time, “Amariz, just by being who she was and through her promptings, brought lessons of love, reverence for life, and a sacredness to humanity no matter where she went. As her last work, Amariz gave the gift of life to several other people by donating her organs.“
- Plaintiff C.V. “is a three-year-old boy whose medical diagnoses include: Trisomy 21, nonmosaicism (meiotic nondisjunction); Seizure activity refractory to multiple medications; Developmental delay, and Gastrostomy tube dependence. He also attends preschool at the New Mexico School for the Blind.”
- Plaintiff M.G. “is a 3-year-old Medically Fragile Waiver participant … She is diagnosed with Chronic Lung Disease, Esophageal Reflux, Global Developmental Delay, Periventricular Leukomalacia, Generalized Seizure Disorder, for which she requires feeding by gastrostormy tube, H/O tracheostormy, and ventilator dependency.”
Now, even more than three years later, and despite being ruled against by the Federal District Court Judge (who was upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Lujan Grisham’s team continues to fight efforts to provide the nursing hours necessary for all medically fragile children in New Mexico.
In fact, today, the attorneys representing the children are in Court seeking an order for immediate relief for all medically fragile children in New Mexico who aren’t receiving all their nursing hours.
Failing to Provide Sufficient Funding and Care = An Empty Promises
It is difficult to square the Governor’s promises to the DD Waiver community with her administration’s actions fighting sufficient care to these very vulnerable children and relief for their families.
Here is a copy of the Original Complaint filed against Lujan Grisham’s Administration, for failure to provide medically necessary nursing services for medically fragile children.