A hotline that provides New Mexicans with free, around-the-clock access to nurses could shut down by the end of the year.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (http://bit.ly/2fTO9Ux ) revenues for the nonprofit NurseAdvice New Mexico have declined, largely because managed care companies that long supported the program have switched to lower-cost services.
Records show that even though they aren't funding the hotline, many of the companies' patients continue to call the line.
NurseAdvice was launched in 2006 as a public-private partnership to help reduce medical care costs and ease the strain on rural health clinics and hospitals overwhelmed with unnecessary emergency room visits.
The state initially required Medicaid contractors to partner with the nonprofit and contribute funding, generating revenue to cover operating costs. That mandate eventually was removed.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
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