access- Year-one award
- $211,484,741
- Lead agency
- Health Care Authority
- Maternal care in the plan
- Puts a dollar figure on maternal care
- Status
- Hubs awarded, local rounds next
What New Mexico's plan funds for maternal care
The Health Care Authority leads the program, which received $211.5 million for year one. Healthy Horizons is the largest initiative, $79.1 million in fiscal 2026 and $393.3 million over five years, and its budget has a "Maternal and Child Health" line of $5,178,220. The application commits the state to "develop and implement incentive payment models for rural hospitals and clinics that establish and sustain specialty and maternal care service lines," says "specialty consults in areas such as neurology, cardiology, psychiatry, and maternal-fetal medicine will be supported through secure video, EHR-integrated e-consults, and HIPAA-compliant clinical messaging," and funds provider training "for integrating perinatal mental health screening, referral, and treatment." The budget narrative adds "establish / expand in-person specialty and maternal care networks (e.g., regional centers of excellence)."
What is open, and what comes next
On September 18, 2026, the state selected five organizations to lead six regional hubs: Cibola General Hospital with Gallup Community Health ($12.05 million), the UNM Regents for Region 2 ($9.03 million) and Region 3 ($10.17 million, including $1.37 million for statewide maternal health planning), Eastern Plains Council of Governments ($7.90 million), Gila Regional Medical Center ($15.23 million) and Nor-Lea Hospital District ($19.68 million). Each hub must use at least 90% of its award for local projects, and the state must approve each hub's budget, scope of work and implementation plan before the money is used. The state says opportunities to work with the regional hubs are forthcoming. The Rural Health Innovation Fund ($47 million in year one, $189 million over the program subject to annual approval) closed August 3 and is under evaluation, with contracts expected from October 1, 2026.
Who can apply, and where a partner fits
The innovation fund is unusual: eligible applicants include "health care providers, Tribal entities, community-based organizations, local governments, academic institutions, regional partnerships, vendors and other organizations." Local hub rounds will follow. A telehealth practice fits as a hub's or a rural hospital's maternal-fetal medicine partner: the e-consult capacity the plan names, and the specialist coverage a hospital needs to claim a service-line incentive payment and keep it.
Where Ouma fits
How tele-MFM fits New Mexico's model
New Mexico is paying rural hospitals to open and sustain maternal service lines. Sustaining one is the hard part: a small hospital can't recruit a maternal-fetal medicine physician, and the incentive is lost if the line closes. Ouma provides contracted maternal-fetal medicine coverage and ultrasound interpretation to rural and critical access hospitals. Ouma is licensed to practice in all 50 states and is Medicaid-enrolled in 20 states as of August 2026.
See every state's plan side by side or what a partner letter for an application looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Can a vendor apply in New Mexico?
To the Rural Health Innovation Fund, yes; vendors were listed as eligible. That round closed August 3, 2026. Hub local rounds haven't been announced.
Which hub covers my county?
The state's September 18 announcement lists the six regional leads and their regions.