Legislative analysts: Medication treatment for opioid, alcohol addiction not reaching New Mexicans

BY: DANIELLE PROKOP
Courtesy of Source NM

From left, New Mexico Department of Health officials Dr. Miranda Durham and Secretary Gina DeBlassie and Legislative Finance Committee Program Evaluators Maggie Klug and John Valdez testify before lawmakers on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

Despite expanding the availability of medication-assisted treatment, state health officials only treated about 4% of the New Mexicans estimated to have opioid use disorders in public health offices, a report released Wednesday found.

The finding was one of several Legislative Finance Committee analysts presented to lawmakers from a 38-page report evaluating the New Mexico Department of Health programs to address opioid and alcohol addiction treatments after a 2024 expansion of services offices in most counties in New Mexico.

While 9,100 New Mexicans have opioid use disorder requiring treatment, the New Mexico Department of Health only treated 321 people in public health offices during fiscal year 2024, with most offices treating fewer than 10 people. Only three people with alcohol use disorder were treated with medicated-assisted treatment over the same time frame.

Analysts issued recommendations for state health officials to: centralize marketing and management of the program; set performance targets for treating more people in public health offices; report the data; pursue mobile clinics and better promote the treatment.

NMDOH Secretary Gina DeBlassie told lawmakers she agreed with the assessment, saying the department was working to hire someone to lead the program, and that the department would expedite marketing efforts.

“We haven’t done enough in the community as it relates to getting the word out about our [Medication for Opioid Use Disorder] services ” DeBlassie told lawmakers. “We recognize that. We’re working on that.”

Medication-assisted treatment, nicknamed MAT, includes medications that are proven to reduce cravings and prevent withdrawal symptoms from both opioids and alcohol. Experts say MAT is crucial to treating alcohol and opioid use in New Mexico,which has some of the highest rates in the nation.

The state also delivers MAT through prison programs; the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center and Turquoise Lodge Hospital; and certain certified clinics. However, the expansion into public health offices was to offer services to underserved populations and decrease travel, according to past statements on the program.

The majority of MAT is delivered by private providers, with Medicaid data showing that more than 10,000 New Mexicans sought treatment in 2024. Most people who sought MAT traveled to get it, according to Maggie Klug, a program evaluator for the Legislative Finance Committee.

“This highlights the need the public health offices are trying to meet, while also indicating that people may not be aware of the treatment available in the local public health offices,” Klug said.

Rep. Harlan Vincent (R-Ruidoso Downs) compared NMDOH’s performance to “a fire department only running 4% of the calls.”

DeBlassie responded that she agreed with the statement, adding that the department’s program stalled in March 2025, and that NMDOH is committed to marketing the program and seeking additional referrals.

​“There are individuals within the community that are in need of treatment, and I can guarantee they did not know that the public health office is a resource and we’re looking to change that,” DeBlassie said.