New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Compensation Group
2021 Annual Report
Message From The Administrator
Since 1987, the New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Compensation Group has provided its members with a sound financial mechanism to manage and pay workers’ compensation claims. Comprised of both public and private hospitals and healthcare organizations, the Group is governed by its members. Our members took the lead to lobby for enabling legislation, and then formed the first self-insured workers’ compensation group in New Mexico.
An interesting fact about self-insured groups is that they have the flexibility to offer their members some unique and beneficial features that are very different from commercial insurance policies. Here is why this program is so important to our members:
Up to 70% of a Group member’s premiums are potentially available to be returned in the form of a dividend, if not used to pay claims.
Investment income is allocated back to the members.
By statute, the Group’s administrative costs are limited to 30% of premiums.
Each member is encouraged to have a representative on the Board of Trustees, which gives them a voice in how the Group is administered.
Under the guidance of an independent actuary, the Trustees establish the yearly premium rates and declare dividends.
Excess insurance coverage is purchased to protect the members against large losses.
·Our Group offers its members additional financial incentives for sound employee safety practices such as premium discounts for safety committee engagement, safe patient handling, return to work programs, and active involvement in reducing slips, trips, and falls accidents.
In recent years, our members have enjoyed sharing in the distribution of dividends totaling approximately $4,300,000. In fact, between 19% and 38% of premiums have been distributed back to the members over the past five years.
For 35 years, the New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Compensation Group has been assisting our members to minimize the cost of workers’ compensation claims. Thank you for the privilege of serving your facilities.
Erika Campos, Plan Administrator, New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Compensation Group
Staff
Administrator
Erika Campos ecampos@nmhsc.com
Operations
Risk Management Manager, Cindy Clark cclark@nmhsc.com
Senior Claims Adjuster, Patricia Martinez, pmartinez@nmhsc.com
Claims Adjuster, Coralee “Corky” Feit, cfeit@nmhsc.com
Environmental Health & Safety Specialist, Justin Cheney, jcheney@nmhsc.com
Administrative Assistant, Christina Rico crico@nmhsc.com
Finance
Chief Financial Officer, Jody Belkofer jbelkofer@nmhsc.com
NMHWCG By the numbers
$4,300,000
35
70%
4.9%
$900,000
Highlights
Unprecedented Patient Volumes
The self-insured workers’ compensation group members’ staff and services continued to see unprecedented patient volumes. Staffing at hospitals remained an ongoing struggle. In 2021, the New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Compensation Group continued to report employee COVID cases that resulted during patient contact. New Mexico mandated that any health care worker who contracted COVID while treating patients would be a covered claim under the presumption that COVID was contracted at work. Along with rolling out COVID vaccines which resulted in many members wanting vaccines to be mandatory while boarding states opted to not require mandatory vaccinations which resulted in resignations to an already struggling staff.
Group Participation
Member participation continues to ensure that the Group is fiscally sound. Participation from Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers continues to be high and allows for member participation in decisions that have a financial impact on their facilities as well as the Group. The Group elected to increase the Group Discount rate from the previous year by 4.9% which was in the range recommended by the actuary. Based on the actuary study the Board approved a dividend of $900,000 to be distributed back to members.
Excess carrier coverage through, Midwest Employers’ Casualty, saw a slight increase in rates for the Group for the 2022 policy.
Quarterly Updates
Quarterly updates are provided regarding loss prevention and safety. The annual safety audits were coordinated based on employer policy and census with COVID patients. All members were able to have the annual audit performed except for one member who made the decision to close the campus due to an increase in COVID patients. Quarterly Safety Committee meetings have also had an increase in attendance and participation.
Premium Discount Task Force
The Premium Discount Task Force evaluated the Safe Patient Handling program which identified that workplace violence against healthcare workers has risen significantly. Changes to the program measurements focused on behavioral components versus the current result-based criteria. The new measures will focus on identifying patients with prior issues or physical conditions that may result in violence against healthcare workers to clinical and non-clinical staff.
Board of Trustees
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Bashar Naser, Chair
Chief Financial Officer
Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center
Alamogordo, NM
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Josue Rodriguez, Vice-Chair
Human Resources Director
Nor-Lea Hospital District
Lovington, NM
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Jill Swagerty, Secretary
Human Resources Director
Union County General Hospital
Clayton, NM
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Kaycee Sandoval, Treasurer
Human Resources and Operations Director
South Central Colfax County Special Hospital District
Springer, NM
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Diane Martinez
Vice President of Human Resources and Administration
Presbyterian Medical Services
Santa Fe, NM
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Darlene Fernandez
Chief Financial Officer
UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center
Rio Rancho, NM
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Rebecca Martell
Chief Human Resources Officer
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services
Gallup, NM
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Bret Goebel
Chief Financial Officer
Guadalupe County Hospital
Santa Rosa, NM
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Christopher Harris
Director of Human Resources
Cibola General Hospital
Grants, NM
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Steve Rozenboom
Chief Financial Officer
Holy Cross Medical Center
Taos, NM
Accomplishments and Achievements
Hospitals throughout the state continued to see an increased number of patients due to COVID and general health conditions that went untreated. We continued to handle COVID-reported workers’ compensation claims under the Executive Order from Governor Lujan-Grisham, which stated that a presumption that health care workers carry a far greater risk of being exposed at their workplace. COVID claims represented 15% of claims filed in 2021, down by 4% from 2020.
Highlights during 2021 include:
NMHWCG Board members were instrumental in increasing the group discount rate to 33.1%, which was 4.9% higher than the 2021 discount rate.
Our claims handling and loss prevention services continue to facilitate an excellent relationship with the excess carrier. Our members saw a very slight increase in rates for 2022 policies of 1%.
The Premium discount Task Force continued working on programs to make these more behavioral-based programs and put the control back in the hands of the members. The Safe Patient Handling program was reviewed in 2021, and through this process, we identified a significant increase in workplace violence against healthcare workers. Changes were made to the program to ensure that all employees are aware of potential patient issues to avoid attacks.
Our Membership
Private Member Facilities
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Cibola General Hospital
Cibola General Hospital was established in 1959 to provide Cibola County, New Mexico, with the exceptional healthcare services that promote community wellness and improve quality of life. The hospital has been successful on both counts, offering patients and their families from throughout northwestern New Mexico the finest possible combination of compassionate care and leading-edge technology.
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Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center
Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center is a general hospital, owned and operated by the non-profit Otero County Hospital Association, that serves the Alamogordo, New Mexico area. It is the first military/civilian shared hospital facility in the United States. GCRMC is accredited by the Det Norske Veritas.
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Holy Cross Medical Center
Holy Cross Hospital is the leading care provider throughout northern New Mexico. As a leading rural hospital in the United States, Holy Cross has always endeavored to be on the cutting edge of innovative care; proud of its heritage, and embedded deeply in the daily life of this remarkable community.
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Presbyterian Medical Services
At Presbyterian Medical Services, we believe that the best way to improve community health and wellbeing is for everyone to work together. That’s why we work collaboratively with community groups, school districts, local providers, hospitals, and governments at every level. Together, we develop programs and services that meet the needs of the people living within these communities, and we continue expanding into communities that invite our involvement.
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Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services Services (RMCHCS) is an integrated delivery system providing care for northwestern New Mexico and eastern Arizona. We are proud to continue a history of healthcare dating back to the early 1900s. As a private, not-for-profit healthcare system, we are committed to improving the health and wellness of our community and the individuals for whom we care.
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Taos Professional Services
Taos Professional Services,llc is a Medical Group that has 6 practice medical offices located in Taos NM. There are 12 health care providers, specializing in Certified Nurse Midwife (Cnm), Internal Medicine, Physical Therapy, Emergency Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease (Cardiology), Urology, Obstetrics/Gynecology, General Surgery, Registered Dietitian Or Nutrition Professional, Pediatric Medicine and more, being reported as members of the medical group. Medical taxonomies which are covered by Taos Professional Services,llc include Occupational Therapist, Physician Assistant, Emergency Medicine, Plastic Surgery, Nutrition, Renal, Physical Therapist, Registered Nurse, Surgery, Family, Family Medicine and many more.
Public Member Facilities
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Guadalupe County Hospital
Guadalupe County Hospital is a 10 bed general acute care hospital in eastern rural New Mexico. We provide emergency and inpatient care, diagnostics, including laboratory and imaging services, and specialize in pain intervention procedures. We also own and operate the Route 66 Pharmacy. Guadalupe County Hospital is the recipient of numerous clinical quality and patient experience awards.
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Nor-Lea Hospital District
Nor-Lea Hospital District is a not-for-profit, community-based healthcare organization that owns and operates Nor-Lea Medical Clinics; Nor-Lea Professional Physicians Center; Nor-Lea Cancer Center; Nor-Lea Home Medical and Nor-Lea General Hospital, a 25 bed Medicare-certified facility.
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Sierra Vista Hospital
We are a community-operated 15-bed Critical Access Hospital and we are members of the New Mexico Hospitals and Health Systems Association. Sierra Vista Hospital‘s commitment has always been to serve the 13,000 residents, as well as the 900,000 visitors who come to enjoy Sierra County and Elephant Butte Lake State Park annually. We are committed to providing healthcare that is sensitive, compassionate, promptly delivered, and cost-effective.
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South Central Colfax County Special Hospital District
South Central Colfax County Special Hospital District proudly runs a nursing home facility that has 33 beds for 24/7 care of our Colfax county loved ones and seniors who need constant care. We also have a Lab with excellent services for our patients, and we cover all of Colfax county. You can fill out our contact form for questions or concerns.
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Union County General Hospital
Managed by Community Hospital Consulting, Inc., UCGH is well-positioned to continue growing throughout the 21st Century, providing for the health care and medical needs of Union County and Clayton, NM, and neighboring counties and cities. We regularly welcome patients from Texline and Dalhart, Texas, Boise City, Oklahoma, Des Moines, Gladstone, Amistad, NM, and all points.
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UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center
UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center serves to improve the overall health of the community by providing the highest-quality health care services that meet the needs of Sandoval County's diverse population, as well as providing, increasingly over time, health care and medical educational opportunities through partnerships with the UNM School of Medicine, UNM College of Nursing, UNM College of Pharmacy and Central New Mexico Community College.
Hospital Servces Corporation
7471 Pan American Freeway NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109
PO Box 92200
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87199-2200
505-343-0070
Toll-Free 866.908.0070
www.nmhospitalservices.com