A-Rod sues MLB, union to overturn drug ban Sports, B-1
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Judge clears way for N.M. physicians to aid terminally ill patients in dying
Judge delays ruling on horse meat plant Judge plans to rule Friday on whether a horse-slaughter plant should be barred from opening. LocaL News, a-6
Ruling says doctors cannot be prosecuted for prescribing medications to help end lives
Congressional leaders facing a pivotal week
By Susan Montoya Bryan The Associated Press
Talks to test the powers of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner. Page a-3
Competent, terminally ill patients have a fundamental right under the New Mexico Constitution to seek a physician’s help in getting pre-
scription medications if they want to end their lives on their own terms, a state district judge ruled Monday. Second Judicial District Judge Nan Nash said the constitution prohibits the state from depriving a person of life, liberty or property without due process. “This court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill
patient to choose aid in dying,” the judge wrote. Nash also ruled that doctors could not be prosecuted under the state’s assisted suicide law, which classifies helping with suicide as a fourthdegree felony. The plaintiffs in the case do not consider physicians aiding in dying a form of suicide. The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office said it is discussing the possibility of an appeal
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Sparks fly over state budget
U.S. schools grapple with mental health screenings By Kelli Kennedy
The Associated Press
MIAMI — After his father was diagnosed with cancer, a 15-year-old Champaign, Ill., teen started skipping school, erupting in angry outbursts, yelling at teachers and punching holes in walls or retreating to his room paralyzed by an overwhelming sadness. When the teen’s assistant principal approached him a few months ago about seeking help for mental illness, the student initially declined, saying he didn’t need it. However, eventually he did seek treatment. Diagnosed with major depressive disorder, he joined group therapy sessions at his school. As stories about increasing school violence dominate headlines, experts say many teens are struggling with untreated mental illness. Yet, school officials around the country are themselves grappling with the best way to offer mental health services in a patchwork, underfunded system. “We have [schools] screening for all kinds of rare infectious diseases, and then we don’t screen for common behavioral disorders that are costly to the individual, the family and society in terms of health care utilization, crime cost and high risk of death. … It doesn’t
Please see HeaLTH, Page A-4 From left, Human Services Deputy Secretary Brent Earnest, State Auditor Hector Balderas and State Controller Ricky Bejarano speak during a financial meeting at the state Capitol on Monday. A 30-day legislative session starts next week. PHOTOS BY JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN
Young adults off pace in signing up for health plans
Unreimbursed Medicaid expenses part of shortfall that threatens budgeting process By Patrick Malone The New Mexican
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By Amy Goldstein and Sandhya Somashkehar The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Young adults account for slightly less than one-fourth of the Americans who signed up for health plans during the initial three months of federal and state insurance marketplaces — fewer so far than the government has said will be needed to make the economics of the new exchanges work. The figures, part of a monthly progress report on the marketplaces that was issued Monday, offer the first glimpse into whether the health plans available under the Affordable Care Act are becoming provinces of the old and sick or are managing to attract young, healthy people who have not previously considered insurance worthwhile. According to the report, released by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 24 percent of the nearly 2.2 million people who enrolled in the marketplaces through the end of December are between the ages of 18 and 34. One-third are 55 to 64 years old. The figures mean that the proportion of young adults is lagging behind what both government and outside health-policy analysts have said will be required for the
Rep. Luciano ‘Lucky’ Varela, D-Santa Fe, speaks during a financial meeting at the state Capitol on Monday.
obituaries
Calendar a-2
Classifieds B-5
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Today
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Index
A full day of sunshine. High 46, low 23.
Donald W. Burns, 85, Santa Fe, Jan. 11 Maida M. Durr, 95, Santa Fe, Jan. 10 Murray J. Gass, Cherry Hill, N.J., Jan. 13 Arcenio H. Ortiz, 61, Santa Fe, Jan. 7 Matthew Dean Rivera, 49, El Rancho, Jan. 7
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Lotteries a-2
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Editor: Ray Rivera, 986-3033, rrivera@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Carlos A. López, clopez@sfnewmexican.com
onfusion regarding up to $100 million in unrealized federal reimbursements sparked fiery exchanges between New Mexico lawmakers and the governor’s budget office on Monday. One week away from the 30-day legislative session to craft New Mexico’s fiscal year 2015 budget, the shortfall that the state has been grappling with for more than two years continues to be a problem. And State Controller Ricky Bejarano said it isn’t likely to be reconciled in time to be fully addressed this year. At stake are tens of millions of dollars that for the second time in three years could be sapped from the state
Investigation finds hundreds of students in the Taos school district were not receiving necessary services. Page a-6
www.pasatiempomagazine.com
‘what Happened was’ A staged reading of Tom Noonan’s humorous play, 7 p.m., Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Ave., $10 suggested donation, 466-5528. More events in Calendar, A-2
Time Out B-11
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Report reveals issues in special education in Taos
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budget to fill unreimbursed Medicaid expenses. “We can’t make any policy decisions because we don’t know where we are,” Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, said during a House Budget Committee hearing on Monday. The Department of Finance and Administration is mired in seven years of neglected ledgers. In 2012, the department identified $70 million in accounting discrepancies. In 2013, the Legislature authorized $70 million in operating reserves to reconcile the shortfall, but Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed the language. Now, the Department of Finance and Administration reports it has raised the state’s estimated liability from the shortfall to $101.7 million
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Last stop, New Mexico Aging jets being put to rest in Roswell as airlines turn to more fuel-efficient models. LocaL BUsINess, a-9
Two sections, 24 pages 165th year, No. 14 Publication No. 596-440