New Mexico

Applies only to New Mexico hospitals and some health care practices.¹

Parties must provide notice for a variety of transaction types involving covered entities, including:

• Merger of a hospital in New Mexico with another hospital or with a person controlling a hospital;
• Acquisition of one or more hospitals or a person controlling a hospital in New Mexico;
• Affiliation or contract or other agreement that results in a change of control of a hospital in New Mexico, including with a management services organization or health insurer;
• Formation of a new corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, parent organization or management services organization that results in a change of control of an existing hospital in New Mexico;
• Sale, purchase, lease, new affiliation or any agreement that results in control of a hospital in New Mexico. By statute, control can be presumed with as little as 15% share of voting securities; and
• An acquisition of one or more independent health care practices by a health care provider organization that is owned or affiliated with a health insurer.

The statute includes no size related thresholds.

The HCA has 30 days to determine whether a notice is complete and must complete its review of a proposed transaction within 120 days of receiving a completed notice, which time period can be tolled if the HCA makes additional information requests of the parties. The HCA can waive this time period for transactions that are “urgently necessary to maintain the solvency of a hospital” or for other emergencies.

Parties must submit a notification to the HCA, and will pay the costs and expenses incurred by the HCA during the course of its review. The HCA will provide the filing and all associated documents with the New Mexico Attorney General. Information required to be included in the notification includes:

• List of the parties, the terms of the proposed transaction, and copies of all transaction agreements;
• Statement describing the proposed transaction’s goals and whether and how the proposed transaction affects health care services in New Mexico;
• Geographic service area of any hospital affected by the proposed transaction;
• Description of the groups or individuals likely to be affected by the transaction; and
• Summary of the health care services currently provided by the parties and any health care services that will be added, reduced, or eliminated, including an explanation of why any services will be reduced or eliminated.

The HCA will publish information from the notice (with the exception of the terms of the transaction) on its website. In addition, the HCA will issue a statement regarding the transaction in newspapers and to various interested parties including public officials and labor organizations requesting public comment.

Parties that violate the statue are subject to fines of up to $15,000 per day.