To: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham;  Kari Armijo @ The New Mexico Health Care Authority; Behavioral Health Reform Executive Committee; The Office of Superintendent of Insurance; New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy; 2026 Gubernatorial Candidates (Sam Bregman, Deb Haaland, Gregg Hull, Duke Rodriguez, Doug Turner); San Juan Behavioral Health, and the White House Great American Recovery Initiative.

The Problem:

New Mexico’s mental health system is in a state of collapse that endangers patients and families alike. Currently, there is a total lack of long-term inpatient facilities, leaving families with no options for loved ones requiring extended stabilization. This is exacerbated by a "revolving door" system where insurance-driven diagnostics prioritize quick discharge over clinical accuracy.

Furthermore, a dangerous lack of communication between providers and support staff leads to fragmented care, while families in crisis are often met with hostility or abuse from law enforcement mental health response units who lack the specialized training to de-escalate situations or support concerned relatives.

The Solution:

We demand the following immediate actions from state leadership:

Fund & Build Long-Term Care: Allocate emergency capital for the construction and staffing of at least three regional long-term inpatient psychiatric facilities.

Mandatory Communication Protocols: Establish a statewide integrated health record system that mandates real-time communication between inpatient doctors, outpatient providers, and family support teams.

Insurance Reform & Diagnostic Integrity: Empower the Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) to audit "insurance-happy" providers and penalize companies that deny long-term care based on automated diagnostic metrics rather than clinical necessity.

Police Reform & Family Advocacy: Mandate 40 hours of biennial Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for all responding officers, specifically focusing on family-centered support and penalizing officers who exhibit abusive behavior toward concerned relatives.

Independent Oversight: Create an independent Behavioral Health Ombudsman with the power to investigate "lack of accountability" complaints and issue binding corrective actions for facilities.

Why it Matters:

New Mexicans are being abandoned by the very systems meant to protect them. Without long-term beds and professional, compassionate emergency response, our communities face rising rates of homelessness, incarceration, and preventable tragedy. We demand a system built on medical necessity and human dignity, not insurance profits and administrative silence.