Medicaid In New Mexico, a projected 16,000 people would enroll in a Medicaid program, and their premiums would be 15 to 28 percent lower than plans sold on the individual market. (Image: Shutterstock)

Laura Lucero Y Ruiz De Gutierrez has a heart condition and fibromyalgia and is in danger of developing diabetes. She has health insurance through her husband's job. But, between the $800 monthly premium for the couple's coverage and the $2,100 deductible she has to pay down before insurance starts picking up the tab, she doesn't feel she can afford to go to the doctor when she needs to.

She hopes that may soon change. Identical bills proposed in recent weeks in the New Mexico House and Senate would make Gutierrez eligible to buy in to a public health plan modeled on Medicaid. She also could receive state-funded assistance that would save her hundreds of dollars a month on premiums.

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