Summary:

 House Bill 116 (HB116 )relates to health by requiring the Department of Health to pay licensed boarding homes for housing people discharged from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute at Las Vegas or the University of New Mexico Adult Psychiatric Center and also making an appropriation. 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill116 (HB116) provides that beginning January 1, 2026, the Department of Health shall pay each boarding home that admits a person who is discharged from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute at Las Vegas or the University of New Mexico Adult Psychiatric Center, two hundred dollars ($200) for each month that the person is a resident of the boarding home. 
The Health Department shall promulgate rules for the payment of boarding homes.  At a minimum, the rules shall address: 
(1) the documentation required to be submitted by the boarding home to be eligible for payment; and 
(2) safeguards to prevent fraud.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2026 to pay licensed boarding homes for housing people released from the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas or the University of New Mexico Adult Psychiatric Center.  Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2026 shall revert to the General Fund.

Analysis: HB116 provides that beginning January 1, 2026, the Department of Health shall pay each boarding home that admits a person who is discharged from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute at Las Vegas or the University of New Mexico Adult Psychiatric Center, two hundred dollars ($200) for each month that the person is a resident of the boarding home. 
The Health Department shall promulgate rules for the payment of boarding homes.  At a minimum, the rules shall address: 
(1) the documentation required to be submitted by the boarding home to be eligible for payment; and 
(2) safeguards to prevent fraud.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2026 to pay licensed boarding homes for housing people released from the New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas or the University of New Mexico Adult Psychiatric Center.  Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2026 shall revert to the General Fund.