HB 241

                                1  HOUSE BILL 241
                                2     57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4        Tara L. Lujan and Pamelya Herndon and Reena Szczepanski
                                5
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                                10  AN ACT
                                11   RELATING TO PHYSICIANS; REQUIRING COURTS TO NOTIFY THE NEW
                                12   MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD WHEN PHYSICIANS ARE NAMED AS DEFENDANTS IN
                                13   MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES; EXTENDING THE PERIOD IN WHICH THE
                                14   NEW MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD MAY SUMMARILY SUSPEND LICENSEES;
                                15   REQUIRING THE NEW MEXICO MEDICAL BOARD TO POST CERTAIN
                                16   INFORMATION RELATING TO MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS ON THE
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                                17   BOARD'S WEBSITE.
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                                19   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
                                20        SECTION 1.     Section 61-6-15.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2008,
                                21   Chapter 74, Section 1) is amended to read:
                                22        "61-6-15.1.     SUMMARY SUSPENSION OR RESTRICTION OF
                                23   LICENSE.--
                                24  A.   The board may summarily suspend or restrict a
                                25   license issued by the board without a hearing, simultaneously
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                                1    with or at any time after the initiation of proceedings for a
                                2    hearing provided under the Uniform Licensing Act, if the board
                                3    finds that evidence in its possession indicates that the
                                4    licensee:
                                5  (1)   poses a clear and immediate danger to the
                                6    public health and safety if the licensee continues to practice;
                                7  (2)   has been adjudged mentally incompetent by
                                8    a final order or adjudication by a court of competent
                                9    jurisdiction; or
                                10  (3)   has pled guilty to or been found guilty of
                                11   any offense related to the practice of medicine or for any
                                12   violent criminal offense in this state or a substantially
                                13   equivalent criminal offense in another jurisdiction.
                                14  B.   A licensee is not required to comply with a
                                15   summary action until service has been made or the licensee has
                                16   actual knowledge of the order, whichever occurs first.
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                                17  C.   A person whose license is suspended or
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                                18   restricted under this section is entitled to a hearing by the
                                19   board pursuant to the Uniform Licensing Act within [fifteen]
                                20   thirty days from the date the licensee requests a hearing."
                                21        SECTION 2.     Section 61-6-16 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
                                22   Chapter 269, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:
                                23        "61-6-16.     REPORTING OF MALPRACTICE CLAIMS, SETTLEMENTS
                                24   AND JUDGMENTS, PROFESSIONAL REVIEW ACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF
                                25   SURRENDERED LICENSE--IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL DAMAGES--PENALTY.--
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                                1  A.   When a malpractice claim is filed in a court of
                                2    New Mexico, the court shall notify the board of any licensees
                                3    named as defendants in the lawsuit.     The court shall notify the
                                4    board if a claim against a licensee is dismissed, or if a claim
                                5    is amended to no longer include a licensee as a defendant.
                                6  [A.] B.   All entities that make payments under a
                                7    policy of insurance, self-insurance or otherwise in settlement
                                8    or satisfaction of a judgment in a medical malpractice action
                                9    or claim, hospitals, health care entities and professional
                                10   review bodies shall report to the board all payments relating
                                11   to malpractice actions or claims arising in New Mexico that
                                12   involve a licensee and that are paid as a direct result of the
                                13   licensee's care, all appropriate professional review actions of
                                14   licensees and the acceptance or surrender of clinical
                                15   privileges by a licensee while under investigation or in lieu
                                16   of an investigation.     For the purposes of this section, the
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                                17   meaning of these terms shall be as contained in Section 431 of
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                                18   the federal Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, 42
                                19   USCA Section 11151.
                                20  C.   A malpractice claim that results in at least one
                                21   million dollars ($1,000,000) in payments shall be reviewed by
                                22   the board.
                                23  D.   The board shall maintain a database of all
                                24   notification reports made to the board pursuant to this
                                25   section.     The database shall be posted on the board's website
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                                1    and shall display all active malpractice claims against a
                                2    licensee, all payments made by or on behalf of a licensee as a
                                3    direct result of the licensee's care and any disciplinary
                                4    actions taken against the licensee.
                                5  [B.] E.   The hospitals required to report under this
                                6    section, health care entities or professional review bodies
                                7    that provide such information in good faith shall not be
                                8    subject to suit for civil damages as a result of providing the
                                9    information.
                                10  [C.] F.   A hospital, health care entity or
                                11   professional review body failing to comply with the reporting
                                12   requirements provided in this section shall be subject to civil
                                13   penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000)."
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