KC Counts:
Tell me where New Mexico Safety Over Profit falls in the landscape of that legislation.
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, first off, New Mexico Safety Over Profit, I will give you some context, is the only statewide organization working with victims and survivors of corporate negligence. That means we're working on patient safety, workers' rights, consumer protections, and with victims and survivors of sexual assault. And right now, we are focusing on working with New Mexican families directly impacted by medical malpractice. So families living with the lifelong consequences of the healthcare system that frankly, for far too long, has prioritized profit over patient safety and access. So for us, in this conversation about medical malpractice and tort “deform”, we are ensuring that the voices of those directly impacted by medical malpractice, people who are living with lifelong injuries, with people who they've lost because of medical negligence, we're ensuring that their voices are no longer erased and are heard as policymakers make decisions for the future of what this could look like for New Mexicans who are harmed in the medical setting.
KC Counts:
And certainly, we are seeing them show up, and we're seeing some very emotional pleas on both sides. Tell us about an amendment that was added to the bill, referred to byThink New Mexico as a bad amendment. We call it an unfriendly amendment, right? And that would exempt the equity-owned facilities in the state from that cap on punitive damages that the bill calls for. Tell us about that amendment.
Johana Bencomo:
Yes, I think anyone who describes this amendment as bad clearly has an interest in seeing corporate-owned hospitals be protected. And at New Mexico Safety Over Profit, we believe that's not okay. We are very supportive of the Corporate Accountability Amendment. That is incredibly important to public safety. It allows for a jury to hold large hospital corporations responsible for endangering the safety of New Mexican patients, while it also protects doctors and small rural hospitals. So there has been a lot of confusion created around this. And frankly, I feel like it's been intentional, which is sad to see -disinformation about it, but this amendment creates caps on punitive damages for all physicians who opt into the Patient Compensation Fund or who work for a hospital within the PCF. And so the amendment protects small locally owned and operated hospitals by New Mexican companies and provides caps for all of those while holding giant multibillion-dollar corporations who own New Mexico hospitals accountable for harm that they might cause. And KC, I'm happy to talk more about why more New Mexicans should care about private equity-owned hospitals.
KC Counts:
Obviously, a big issue for the state. And we hear that doctors are leaving New Mexico, are considering leaving New Mexico, all because of the premiums that they have to pay and a couple of other things that are going on in the state that make it difficult, they say, for them to practice. How does New Mexico Safety Over Profit respond to those claims?
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think in New Mexico for far too long, we've had a broken healthcare system. I mean, long before the last few years, you know, indigenous communities, poor communities, uninsured communities have long struggled to have access to healthcare. And right now, New Mexico happens to also hold the title for the state with the largest percentage of private equity owned hospitals. So we believe that corporate hospitals and big insurance companies are actually what is driving New Mexico's healthcare access. And that's where we need to focus. And we want to support providers to be able to stay in New Mexico and to thrive in New Mexico, especially in rural communities, though we've seen you know, a nationwide collapse of independent providers across, like I said, across the state, rural losses are happening everywhere. And in New Mexico, doctors have also cited, you know, issues around quality of life that should be addressed for them in order to stay here. And so at New Mexico Safety Over Profit, we came up with this framework to filter all policy solutions through, we call it the WHO framework, so ask three questions about any legislative priority. Who does it benefit? Does it actually benefit patients and doctors? Or does it benefit insurance companies and multibillion-dollar corporations? Is the proposed legislation actually going to reduce harm to patients and protect patient safety? And will the outcomes actually move the needle on this decision shortage that we have? And we do not believe there is adequate evidence to say that limiting access to the justice system when someone is harmed is actually going to bring more doctors to New Mexico. It's only going to limit access to the justice system.
KC Counts:
Well, just with a limit on punitive damages, patients would still have access to the justice system, and certainly get compensatory damages, and then punitive damages would be available, but capped.
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, and I don't know if you've seen those caps for punitive damages. They've said that this amount for non-deaths and then a certain amount for death cases. The reality is that punitive damages exist to hold the most appalling behavior accountable. Punitive damages have long existed, and in the jury system, like the opioid case, right? Likethe opioid settlement that New Mexico, you know, was a beneficiary of because New Mexico was also harmed by the opioid industry. That's just one example of those most appalling kinds of cases. And the reality is that punitive damages exist because we are trying to change this kind of appalling behavior that is allowed within these medical systems that continue to harm patients.
KC Counts:
That gives us the opportunity to talk about that record-setting case, the NuMale Clinic case with the $375 million punitive damage award. And for people who may not understand what's at the heart of that case, you met the patient involved, you say, and why don't you tell us about what happened?
Johana Bencomo:
You know, I'm not going to speak for him because I think that is his story to share, but what I will say about this is that has been The most devastating is how callously people will talk about this case or about any medical malpractice case, as if it was only the lawsuit, without recognizing and acknowledging with a little bit of empathy, the human cost behind all of those cases. There are very real people behind every case that the opposition wants to talk about in this very callous and casual way. And people are living with life altering changes to their lives because they either lost a loved one, like a child, a brand new, you know, born baby, their spouses, because they are now living with a lifelong disability because their children will have to have 24/7 care for the rest of their lives. Like, these stories are very real and they have been very much dismissed and put aside. And often when I talk to victims and survivors, they feel like they are now being villainized. Like it is their fault that there is this physicianshortage when the reality is that they have to live with these consequences of medical systems that haven't been held accountable for far too long. And frankly, HB 99 does very little to change those realities. And this amendment, this corporate accountability amendment is one of the only really remaining pieces of HB 99 that we can look to and say is positive.
KC Counts:
Can we move on to other legislation that's on the table? And what can you say about, for example, the interstate compacts?
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, absolutely. I think the interstate compacts is something that the legislature has done in such a positive way. There was debate about it at first, and then they created this task force and they came up with the best possible legislation. And it's, you know, set to pass and signed by the governor. And I think something like that is so important because it brought in so many perspectives that frankly, things like HB 99 just have not done. But other kinds of, you know, really robust policy solutions include things like loan forgiveness for providers who commit to serving in New Mexico communities. There are opportunities for tax credits for independent physicians who, you know, often anchor our local health systems. And, you know, we're hoping to see also legislation this session, which I don't think we're going to, but we'll fight for it in future sessions. that do more to hold the corporatization of healthcare accountable, as we've seen in some other states like Oregon do, that have really said this is a serious issue in our communities and are taking on that oversight of private equity hospitals.
KC Counts:
We'll be looking for that in the future. In the meantime, I think this organization, maybe others have been identified as dark money organizations. I wanted to give you an opportunity to kind of address that and talk about how New Mexico Safety Over Profit went about becoming more transparent.
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm really glad you gave me the opportunity to speak today, KC, because... You know, I'm -- I've been working in this community in southern New Mexico for almost 15 years in political advocacy. I think for people who know me, they are very -- they know my values, and they know that I'm always working for justice. And to me, this issue of patient safety is no different. It is very clear to me that medical malpractice and medical discrimination, you know, disproportionately impacts people of color, women, and to me, it's very important to be in this work. And so for people to redefine what dark money means has been really disheartening to see. We are very proud to work alongside attorneys who for far too long have seen their clients struggle through trauma, who have had their voices taken away, who feel very powerless. And now we have this organization, this vehicle made specifically for those clients to now become advocates, patient advocates who are fighting for justice, not only for their own families, but for families all across New Mexico. And this is finally the place, this organization is finally the place, where they get to reclaim a little bit of that power. And we'll continue to be very proud and transparent about who we are while corporate hospitals continue to spend thousands of dollars on pitting New Mexicans against each other when it comes to this issue.
KC Counts:
Well, certainly remains to be seen what happens. I think the way people are talking about it, we may be entering into a special session. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham certainly made no bones about her desire to see some action on this issue. Any predictions from your side of things?
Johana Bencomo:
I truly don't know, but if we, if patient advocates continue to show up this session and share their story, I guarantee you they'll continue to show up at special sessions and beyond. We're very, very committed to creating an environment that actually upholds the dignity of patients all across New Mexico, while also supporting our doctors and our physicians and our nurses and everyone who works in the medical field. We're committed to that. We're committed to staying in the fight and in negotiations, and we hope the other side does as well without having tospread so much disinformation about who our patient advocates are.
KC Counts:
Can you be more specific about what disinformation you're referring to?
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, I think, you know, when I talk about the disinformation, I'm talking about who New Mexico Safety Over Profit is. I'm talking about the very real human cost behind medical malpractice litigation and that this isn't just an attorney versus doctor issue. It's very much a patient safety conversation that Almost folks are almost refusing to be had, and also the kind of money that is being spent by corporate hospitals to in TV ads and commercials to try to convince New Mexicans that victims are at fault here and instead, you know, bringing folks together to find real solutions for patient safety.
KC Counts:
Johana Bencomo, Executive Director of New Mexico Safety Over Profit. Thank you for spending this time with us. Is there anything else that's important for people to know that I haven't touched on with you yet?
Johana Bencomo:
Yeah, you know, KC, I just really want to underscore here that New Mexicans absolutely need to be looking into private equity-owned hospitals. We have the highest proportion of private equity-owned hospitals in the country in New Mexico. Folks like the Journal of American Medical Association, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University have all done studies that are showing private equity-owned hospitals are associated with worsening patient care experiences. including lower staff responsiveness, higher adverse events, like you are way more likely to be injured out of private equity-owned hospital than not. And this is a very serious issue that I hope New Mexicans are taking very seriously and doing their own research about. And that's why this corporate amendment is so important.
KC Counts:
All right, we'll stay in touch as the legislative session continues. Thank you very much once again.
Johana Bencomo:
Thank you, KC. Appreciate it.
New Mexico Safety Over Profit reached a settlement with the New Mexico Ethics Commission in July of 2025 that required the organization to pay a $5,000 fine and reveal its donors with no admission of wrong-doing. Here is the settlement agreement.
