Latest news with #BenArcher
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health center under scrutiny after turning away undocumented patients
Feb. 27—LAS CRUCES — Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Gabe Vasquez are asking New Mexico's attorney general to investigate whether Ben Archer Health Clinics violated the law Wednesday when it briefly posted signs saying they would not serve undocumented patients. Meanwhile, the Las Cruces Public Schools, which contracts with Ben Archer, reassured the community Thursday that its school-based health clinics are serving all students and their families. On Wednesday, a sign posted at Ben Archer's Las Cruces clinic announced: "Due to executive order 'Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders' dated February 19, 2025 any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center." The executive order, issued by President Donald Trump, calls for agencies to withhold federally funded services from people without legal citizenship status, and to "enhance eligibility verification systems ... to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits exclude any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States." Heinrich argued in a statement Wednesday that the executive order has no bearing on health care. Photos of similar signs at multiple Ben Archer locations appeared on social media before the clinic reportedly changed course and removed the signs. Ben Archer CEO Mary Alice Garay did not respond to queries from the Journal, and the Hatch headquarters said no one was available to speak with reporters. The Hatch-based nonprofit community health center offers services at 11 sites in southern New Mexico with assistance from federal, state and local funding. Its services include primary and dental care, health education and numerous social services. It is also among the providers with whom Las Cruces Public Schools partners for services at clinics based at three high schools. Heinrich's office said it had also heard from patients who could not refill prescriptions at the center's pharmacy without proving citizenship. Later in the day, the clinic walked back the policy after receiving guidance from the New Mexico Department of Health. In a letter to New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, Vasquez joined Heinrich, a fellow Democrat, in calling for an inquiry into whether Ben Archer's actions were unlawful, and to assure patients were not being questioned about their immigration status. "BAHC's demands that patients produce proof of U.S. citizenship in order to receive basic health care appear to violate both state and federal law," their letter stated. "Their actions also unquestionably run counter to BAHC's mission statement emphasizing access to health services for underserved populations." Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz, in an interview with the Journal, called the White House directive "unfortunate" at a time of growing need for mental health services, part of the "wraparound" service the district clinics are intended to provide students and families. He also pointed to a measles outbreak in Lea County, where nine cases were confirmed as of Tuesday. Ruiz said the district was issuing a memo to the community that its clinics were safe and any qualification requirements implemented by Ben Archer "are put on pause until further notice." "At this time, these centers are open to everyone, and they are able to utilize them and move forward with services," Ruiz said.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Heinrich, Vasquez urge NM AG to look into clinic that turned away undocumented patients
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) posted this image on social media on Wednesday. The Ben Archer Clinic reversed course by Wednesday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Heinrich's Office) Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are calling on the state's top law enforcement officer to investigate whether a Southern New Mexico health facility broke the law when it briefly required patients to show their 'proof of citizenship' to receive care. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Gabe Vasquez, both New Mexico Democrats, made the request regarding Ben Archer Health Centers' conduct in a letter they sent Thursday to Attorney General Raúl Torrez. The letter provides more details the delegation members said their offices verified about who was denied care at one of the nonprofit's 11 health care facilities in Southern New Mexico. Read the letter here. 'One report was from an insulin-dependent patient with diabetes who was unable to refill their insulin prescription, and another report was from a patient who states they were unable to refill their psychotropic medication at Ben Archer's onsite pharmacy,' according to the letter. In a third instance, a constituent sent a photo of a public posting at a school-based Ben Archer clinic in Las Cruces that said, 'Any ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States does not qualify for federally funded services at Ben Archer Health Center.' The center removed the posting within hours Wednesday after getting guidance from a state primary care association, according to the state health department. Despite removing the posting, according to the letter, Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Ignacio Ruiz spoke to the center's chief financial officer on the phone, who indicated the center will 'continue to demand proof of citizenship prior to rendering health services.' Southern NM clinic briefly turned away undocumented patients, citing Trump executive order The center operates three school-based clinics in Las Cruces, according to the letter, as well as in Truth or Consequences, according to the center's website. The posting cited a Feb. 19 executive order from President Donald Trump directed at cabinet agency leaders to find instances of public funds being spent on 'illegal aliens.' The order did not apply to the center, and Heinrich and Vasquez's letter said the clinic may have broken federal and state laws requiring government-funded clinics to provide care regardless of a patient's immigrant status. The letter notes that a measles outbreak is happening in West Texas and Lea County. The state health department has detected nine cases of measles in Lea County. 'At a moment when access to vaccinations and treatment are paramount, the last thing a family needs when attending an appointment at their local school-based clinic—funded by federal, state, and county dollars—is to be turned away unless they prove citizenship,' Heinrich and Vasquez said in the letter. The center's executive director did not return Source New Mexico's calls Wednesday.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico lawmakers urge RFK Jr. to respond to measles outbreak as Texas child dies
New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation is calling on U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to respond to a measles outbreak by leading efforts to test and monitor for the disease, promoting vaccinations and tracking data. In a letter sent this week, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich as well as U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernández urged Kennedy to rehire "critical federal employees" who are tasked with curbing outbreaks. "Your action is urgently needed to stop the spread of measles in New Mexico and across America," the letter states. It calls for Kennedy to publish regular measles updates on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website, maintain existing vaccination guidelines and embark on a nationwide campaign to improve vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella. According to the New Mexico Department of Health's data released Tuesday, there were nine cases of measles in Lea County in the state's southeastern corner. Four of the cases occurred in children between 5 and 17. Heinrich also took to X on Wednesday to call out the Ben Archer Health Center, which operates several clinics in Southern New Mexico, for purportedly denying medical care to undocumented patients. "What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn't just wrong, it was illegal," Heinrich said in a statement. He announced later Wednesday the health center had since reversed course. Ben Archer officials did not immediately return a call requesting comment. The congressional delegates' call for action comes as an unvaccinated child has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month. The outbreak has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, which officials have said is Texas' largest in nearly 30 years. The death was a 'school-aged child who was not vaccinated' and had been hospitalized last week, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement Wednesday. The CDC confirmed this is the first measles death in the country since 2015. Texas health department data shows the vast majority of cases are among people younger than 18. Gaines County, which has 80 cases, has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year. There's "no confirmed connection" between the Lea County cases and the outbreak in bordering Texas counties, New Mexico Department of Health spokesperson Robert Nott wrote in an email Wednesday. The request from New Mexico delegates might be a tough sell for Kennedy, who has long espoused anti-vaccine views, failing to acknowledge the scientific consensus that childhood vaccines do not cause autism and the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. Those views dominated Kennedy's confirmation hearings last month. Though a promise not to change the nation's vaccination schedule clinched his confirmation, he's since vowed to investigate the vaccine schedule. Kennedy's first few weeks on the job also brought mass firings, with more than 5,000 probationary employees dismissed earlier this month — a figure that includes about a tenth of the CDC workforce. More dismissals are expected soon. Mass layoffs of federal workers "will worsen outbreaks and ultimately threaten the health of all Americans in the face of the next public health emergency," the congressional delegates' letter states. "Preventing and mitigating outbreaks is only possible through effective disease tracking and communication, an adequate workforce, and vaccination," it adds.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico health care center allegedly denies care to people without proof of citizenship
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, responded to a local health care center in Southern New Mexico on Wednesday, Feb. 26, that is allegedly denying care to individuals unable to provide proof of citizenship. Heinrich posted on his X account an image of a paper from one of the Ben Archer Health Care Centers, reading the following: Ben Archer Health Center has over 10 locations in New Mexico, several of them in Las Cruces. Heinrich's office verified that Ben Archer was employing the practice at school-based health clinics, scheduled appointments at standalone clinics and same-day appointment requests, the Senator's office said. 'The idea that kids should have to take their birth certificate to school to get care at the school health clinic? It's just ludicrous. We have skyrocketing grocery prices, a housing crisis, and now, a measles outbreak in New Mexico and Texas. We need our elected officials focused on fixing real issues and our health care providers focused on providing health care,' Heinrich said. According to Heinrich's office, Ben Archer's leadership pointed at the executive order 'Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders' but has no bearing on the 'provision of health care to non-citizens.' 'What Ben Archer was pulling at its health clinics wasn't just wrong, it was illegal. I am glad they reversed course, and that they did it quickly. Let this be a lesson to all healthcare providers that we will hold you accountable for following the law,' Heinrich said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
