New Mexico seeks to boost health insurance subsidies

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is backing legislation that would expand subsidies to the state’s health insurance exchange for residents who don’t qualify for Medicaid.

A first legislative hearing was scheduled for Wednesday on a bill that would substitute a state surtax on insurance premiums for a slightly smaller federal fee that expired late last year.

Proceeds would be used to pay down premiums and other out-of-pocket costs for individuals and families that obtain insurance through state’s exchange.

State insurance regulators hope the measure might extend insurance coverage to 23,000 people who go without coverage.