The frenzy over reforming medical malpractice in New Mexico may be fizzling amid confusing data and political reality. Let's take the second matter first. 

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland is at this point the candidate most likely to succeed MLG in just 11 months. Her chief rival Sam Bregman has the second best shot. Republicans remain highly unlikely of winning. (Polymarket has a GOP win possibility at a mere 18 percent.)

Neither Bregman or Haaland is saying much of anything about Med Mal as Roundhouse shorthand calls it. That's in the face of reams of newsprint trying mightily to force the issue to the top of the legislative agenda. 

This is not going unnoticed at the Capitol. Why should opponents bend if the next Governor is bound to be more favorable to their position? No senators are up for election this year. And why get rankled by a possible special session from the lame duck Governor that would be pre-destined for a train-wreck?

Haaland vigorously attacks Trump's Medicaid polices and does support the medical compact to make it easier for out of state doctors to practice here, adding: 

Address the doctor shortage by joining interstate medical compacts, expanding residency programs to rural areas, and bolstering student loan repayment and housing incentives.

That's it for now with Haaland's website saying a "full plan is coming soon." 

Meanwhile Bregman, like Haaland, is for the doctor compact. But he made his bones as one of the state's top trial attorneys, making his views possibly biased. Still, he downplays reform and in fact defends the current system:

Malpractice reform is not the single silver bullet to correct a myriad of factors that contribute to the main issue New Mexicans face, which is limited access to primary care and other specialty providers when they need them. Malpractice litigation often results in individual providers and systems enhancing their safety protocols, e.g. operating room procedures and prescription practices. Providers need immediate relief from premium burden. State tax income credits will ease that challenge.

Bregman's conclusion that reform is "not the single silver bullet" to fix the doctor shortage is becoming the conventional wisdom and that  slows major Med Mal momentum. 

His view was confirmed in a doctor survey released by the LFC that cites punitive damages as a chief reason for doctors leaving but also crime, education and quality of life factors.

So there are the views of the major Guv contenders whose job is to read what Democratic primary voters are thinking about healthcare. Their read of the room does not have medical malpractice standing out.

THE DATA DISASTER 

Then there's the data debate--and what a hot mess it is for a 30 day session with lawmakers facing one of the most complicated decisions of their careers:

The debate over how many physicians work in New Mexico, and how many doctors the state has lost or gained, is muddied by a lack of conclusive and sometimes conflicting data. . .New Mexico Medical Board data shows the number of licensed physicians has jumped more than 113% since 2019; yet a private national physician advocacy nonprofit contends the state lost 248 physicians during that same time. Since 2011, the state has relied on a UNM Health Sciences Center annual report to track physician and other medical data numbers, but a cyberattack that hit state regulatory files has resulted in no updated counts since 2021.

The UNM Health Sciences data disaster may be resolved in 2027--just in time for the next governor and legislature. Until then, just what is the truth remains elusive and not emboldening for either side.

Politics is timing and in the case of malpractice reform, the advocates may started too late in MLG's tenure and made too much of a bet that the issue would galvanize the public and place them squarely in their corner. 

It turns out big money lawyers fighting big money hospitals as the cost of living increasingly dominates everyday lives is a hard sell. But don't listen to us. Deb and Sam will tell you that.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.