HEALTH PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY ACT

SB0016

SENATE BILL 16

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; ENACTING THE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL
AUTONOMY ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Health Professional Autonomy Act".

SECTION 2.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Health Professional Autonomy Act:

A. "federally qualified health center" means a
health facility that the United States department of health and
human services has deemed to qualify for federal funds as a
federally qualified health center;

B. "health care entity" means a person that
provides or supports the provision of health care services to
patients in New Mexico, including a hospital, a health care
provider, an in-state or out-of-state telemedicine provider, a
health care staffing company, a health care provider
organization, a health care facility, a management services
organization or an organization of health care providers or
facilities; provided that "health care entity" does not mean a
federally qualified health center or an independent health care
practice;

C. "health care facility" means a hospital or other
facility licensed by the health care authority to provide
health care services in a health care setting, including an
inpatient facility; a health system consisting of one or more
health care entities that are jointly owned or managed; an
ambulatory surgery or treatment center; a residential treatment
center; a diagnostic, laboratory or imaging center; a
freestanding emergency facility's outpatient clinic or
rehabilitation facility; a hospice center; a long-term care
facility; and other therapeutic health settings; provided that
"health care facility" does not include an adult daycare
facility, a freestanding birth center, a child care facility or
a shelter care home;

D. "health care provider" means a person certified,
registered, licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to state
law to perform or provide health care services to persons in
the state;

E. "health care services" means the care,
prevention, diagnosis, treatment or relief of an illness, an
injury, a disease or other medical, dental, mental or
behavioral health or substance use disorder condition,
including:

(1) inpatient, outpatient, habilitative,
rehabilitative, dental, palliative, home health, hospice or
mental or behavioral health services provided by a health care
entity; and

(2) retail and specialty pharmacy services,
including provision of drugs;

F. "health care staffing company" means a person
engaged in the business of providing, procuring for employment
or contracting health care personnel for a health care
facility; provided that "health care staffing company" does not
include a person who independently provides the person's own
services to a health care facility as an employee or a
contractor;

G. "hospital" means a hospital licensed by the
health care authority but does not include a state-owned
special hospital operated by the department of health;

H. "independent health care practice" means a
health care provider organization entirely owned or controlled
by one or more individual health care providers who provide
health care services through the health care provider
organization to patients in New Mexico;

I. "long-term care facility" means a nursing home
licensed by the health care authority to provide intermediate
or skilled nursing care;

J. "management services organization" means a
person that contracts with a health care entity to perform or
provide personnel to perform all or substantially all of the
administrative or management services relating to supporting or
facilitating the provision of health care services; and

K. "telemedicine provider" means a health care
provider who uses telecommunications and information technology
to provide clinical health care from a distance to evaluate,
diagnose and treat patients in real time or asynchronously.

SECTION 3.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] PROHIBITIONS.--

A. A health care entity shall not directly or
indirectly interfere with, control or otherwise direct the
professional judgment or clinical decisions of a health care
provider except as required by licensing or accreditation
requirements.

B. A health care entity doing business in this
state shall not interfere with the professional judgment of a
health care provider making health care decisions, including
any of the following:

(1) determining what diagnostic tests are
appropriate for a particular condition;

(2) determining the need for referrals to, or
consultation with, another health care provider;

(3) being responsible for the ultimate overall
care of a patient, including treatment options available to the
patient; and

(4) determining how many patients a health
care provider shall see in a given time period.

SECTION 4.
[
NEW MATERIAL
] PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION--DAMAGES--ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.--

A. A person who has suffered injury by reason of an
act or practice in violation of the Health Professional
Autonomy Act may sue in district court. Upon a showing that
the Health Professional Autonomy Act is being or has been
violated and a showing that the plaintiff has suffered injury,
the court may award damages, punitive damages and injunctive
relief and shall award the cost of the suit, including
reasonable attorney fees.

B. When the attorney general has reasonable belief
that a health care entity is engaging in conduct in violation
of the Health Professional Autonomy Act and enforcement
proceedings would be in the public interest, the attorney
general may bring an action in the name of the state. An
enforcement action by the attorney general may be brought in
the district court of the county where the health care entity
is located or in the first judicial district court. In an
action filed by the attorney general pursuant to the Health
Professional Autonomy Act, the attorney general may petition
the district court for temporary or permanent injunctive relief
and restitution. The attorney general acting on behalf of the
state shall not be required to post bond when seeking a
temporary or permanent injunction in an action brought pursuant
to this section.

C. The relief provided in this section is in
addition to remedies otherwise available pursuant to common law
or other New Mexico statutes.

SECTION 5.
EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.

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