One of the worst fiascos of this public health crisis has been the decision by major New Mexico hospital systems to lay off the very workers who are being counted on to combat the crisis, and it is garnering the attention of the Governor.

Without naming the offenders, MLG blasted the hospitals for cutting hours and pay of healthcare workers and furloughing many of them even as the state has yet to approach its peak volume of coronavirus cases. Not to mention that it has been healthcare workers who have been dying on the job in many parts of the nation as they selflessly treat stricken patients and have rightfully emerged as heroes in this calamity.

The hospitals here, as elsewhere, are pleading poverty, that because the states have banned them from performing profitable elective surgery while making space available for the coronavirus crisis, they are losing millions. Some Republicans want the hospitals to be reopened for elective surgery even though their focus was narrowed for a possible public health emergency that has yet to be resolved. The Governor has a different take. She took those hospitals to the woodshed at her Wednesday news conference, saying she found their course of action "appalling."

I am really disappointed. . .More than $150 billion (in federal money) is coming to the hospitals. I worry that this is a national advocacy effort aimed at getting more money so that their profit centers are. . . maintained and has little do with protecting the healthcare work forces. . . .I find that appalling. . . I am really disappointed that the hospitals in New Mexico behaved  in this way even though the financial. . . issues are challenging. . . We are encouraging our hospital partners to take away the furloughs and put everyone back on full-time as quickly as they can . . .and they should expect to have very direct conservations with me about that. . . I get the money part was hard but it is really a disappointing effort when I thought we are in all this together. . . protecting our healthcare workers.

MLG did not publicly name any of the hospitals but we will. Lovelace Health system announced reduced hours and less pay for much of its staff; Christus Saint Vincent in Santa Fe stunned the community by placing 300 employees on "temporary leave" and San Juan Regional Medical Center joined in the furlough frenzy. Aren't these the same folks who spend thousands on TV ads telling us they will always be there for us?

The hospitals did not immediately respond to the Governor's criticism but there was some off the radar sniping with one critic recalling that during her 2018 campaign MLG was called out for being the co-owner of a healthcare consulting firm that won state contracts to run a high risk insurance pool that critics charged were not needed because of provisions in Obamacare.

Okay, an incident worth a mention but does that compromise her moral authority to defend the healthcare workers and call out the hospitals for their callousness in a time of community crisis?

Most of the cost cutting is set to last 90 days. That the hospitals could not bite the bullet for that short of time and with a federal cash infusion soon to come, is a shame on you moment if there ever was one. And that UNMH and ABQ's Presbyterian Healthcare have not done the same (yet) is a moment of community pride. Hopefully, they hang in there.

Lovelace Health System, Christus St. Vincent and San Juan Regional Medical Center, New Mexico knows who their friends are and right now you're not on the list. (Oh, yeah, you too MountainView Regional Medical Center and MountainView Medical Group in Las Cruces where 67 health careworkers have been laid off.)

DR. NO'S TRAIN WRECK

Our blog on Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith's re-election bid and his prediction that oil prices would crash leaving the state financially vulnerable brought this from a lady Gator:

Senator Smith is being lauded for predicting a train wreck he had a big part in creating. Where was his concern for NM becoming over-reliant on oil and gas revenues when he helped slash other revenue streams to give breaks to the very wealthiest (in 2003) and big, multi-state corporations (in 2013)? Those two massive tax breaks total over $700 million a year, every year in lost revenue, not to mention all of the other special interest breaks he supported or helped orchestrate over the years. Those cuts starved our state of important revenues and laid the groundwork for those cuts you mentioned to programs in the Martinez years. And with every dollar our state (under the leadership of people like Smith) gave away in tax breaks for the most well-connected, the more susceptible we became to the ups and downs of the oil and gas revenue roller coaster. Sen. Smith likes to say “I told you so,” but his actions speak louder than his words.

UNMH FIASCO

McKernan

While UNMH get plaudits for not laying off staff (as of Thursday) during the coronavirus crisis--they are taxpayer funded--there is this. . Veteran political activist Bruce Wetherbee runs a news site called the Candle and he broke a story recently that shows the financial culture at UNM remains troubled:

The story about former UNM Hospital CEO Steve McKernan getting paid about $150,000/year by the hospital to do absolutely nothing from December 2018 through June 2021 should infuriate policy makers and the public alike – especially in light of the strain the current pandemic is placing on our health system. . .. more than 1,200 UNMH employees make less than a “living wage” – that is less than $15/hour (less than $31,200/year).

While doing no work, and in addition to any retirement benefit, McKernan is making more than ten times the hourly rate paid to 1 out of about 5 other employees at UNMH– while housekeepers, patient techs, food workers, and other support staff are cleaning rooms and caring for patients (including COVID-19 patients).

Wetherbee says he continues to investigate the McKernan mystery and his sweetheart deal.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020