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 Medicaid program enables persons with disabilities to work and purchase health insurance. Medicaid helps persons with disabilities to hire and supervise personal assistants. Waiver programs allow persons with certain disabilities to live at home instead of in institutions. Independent living services are being expanded. Statewide programs include prevention, early intervention for 0-3 year olds, job training and assistive technology. State agencies train staff who work with persons with disabilities to respond appropriately to cultural differences.
Include consumer involvement in all agencies providing services to persons with disabilities. Ensure the quality of services through ongoing evaluation, including input from persons with disabilities. Facilitate data collection on disability to monitor the extent and cost of disability in New Mexico. Support family caregiving. Support Medicaid demonstration waiver that would allow home care for all persons with disabilities or older persons who would otherwise require nursing home admission. Simplify and facilitate access to health, social and employment services.
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 The Importance of Disabilities People with disabilities are a large and important part of the New Mexico population. When we take individuals and businesses into account, the effects extend to almost every man, woman, and child in the state. People with disabilities need to be recognized as a significant population with the same basic health care needs as other people, as well as additional special health care needs. By addressing these needs, we can improve the quality of life and social participation of a large number of people. In addition, this may lead to major reductions in private and public healthcare costs. The Meaning of Disability  A disability is any limitation of a person’s physical or mental abilities which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include, for example, self-care, language use, learning, mobility, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. A developmental disability is a severe mental or physical disability which appears before the age of 22; is likely to continue indefinitely; causes substantial limitations in three or more major life activities; and requires services on a long-term basis. For all people with disabilities, it is important to promote good health and solve access problems that may keep them from participating fully in society. This means preventing other problems that may develop as complications of a disability. These may include both medical problems (e.g., pressure sores) and other concerns such as social isolation and lack of access to goods and services. Invisible Disability Some disabilities are easy to recognize, for instance, because of the use of special equipment or service animals. However, in many cases one cannot tell if a person has a disability by his/her appearance; common examples include people with chemical sensitivities or head injuries. Activity Limitations The best available information on disability among adults in New Mexico is from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) based on telephone interviews with a sample of New Mexico households. The BRFSS defines disability by whether the person indicates a limitation (activity, work, mobility, or memory) due to an injury or health problem. A more severe disability is indicated by additional dependence on others for help with personal care and routine needs. The realities of disability affect everyone in New Mexico. Based on the 1998 BRFSS, an estimated 300,000 New Mexico adults living in households have some form of self-reported disability, and over 100,000 of these have a more severe disability.(2) This does not include people who are living in institutions such as nursing homes, hospitals or prisons. Many other persons are directly affected as well: the family and friends who share their lives with people with disabilities. They provide social and emotional support, help with personal care, and may help financially.
Medical expenditures for people with disabilities affect public healthcare costs as well as personal and family budgets. According to the National Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, medical spending for persons with disabilities is four times greater than for persons without disabilities; and public funding sources such as Medicaid and Medicare pay a substantial portion of these costs.(3,4) A significant part of the health costs is due to secondary conditions. Many of these are preventable at minor costs, compared to the often high costs of treating them once they have occurred. At the same time, many people with disabilities enrich the lives of others by paid employment, volunteer work, and by artistic and intellectual endeavors. In many cases, they make major contributions to family income by working. Prevention and Specialized Services Preventing disability and secondary conditions will improve the quality of life of thousands of New Mexicans and save many millions of dollars in costs resulting from dependence, lost productivity and medical care. For persons with disabilities, rehabilitation or habilitation programs are important to help them attain as good a functional capacity as possible, avert further deterioration in functioning, and maintain or improve their quality of life. (1,5) Expected Increases The number of people in New Mexico with long term, severe disabilities will continue to increase. This is largely due to improvements in health and medicine:
However, community-based prevention efforts may be able to counter the increases in disability rates that are associated with these trends. American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Project
The ARC of New Mexico
American Association of Retired Persons
Behavioral Health Services Division (Department of Health)
Brain Injury Advisory Council
Commission for the Blind
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council
Disability and Health Advisory Council
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (Department of Education)
NM Technology Assistance Program:
Governor’s Committee on Concerns of the Handicapped
Long Term Services Division (Department of Health)
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Spina Bifida Association of New Mexico
Independent Living Resource Center
State Agency on Aging (Ombudsman Program)
Statewide FAS Prevention Program
Information Center for New Mexicans with Disabilities/BabyNet
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