The MolinaCares Accord Hosts Panel Addressing Behavioral Health Care Capacity
Caroline Zubieta, Caroline.Zubieta@MolinaHealthcare.com, 562-951-1588
Jamie Dickerman, jdickerman@sunny505.com, 505-720-2195
Albuquerque, N.M. – June 14, 2023 – The MolinaCares Accord (“MolinaCares”), in collaboration with Molina Healthcare of New Mexico (“Molina”), recently held a virtual panel focused on enhancing behavioral health capacity in New Mexico.
The event was hosted by Carolyn Ingram, plan president for Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, and Dr. Darcie Robran-Marquez, chief medical officer for Molina Healthcare of New Mexico. Following a keynote address from Acting Human Services Department Secretary Kari Armijo, Pat Davis, president of the Albuquerque City Council and publisher of four Albuquerque area newspapers, moderated a critical discussion on behavioral health issues and solutions.
“A lot of us deal with this issue every single day,” said Ingram. “We all know firsthand the experiences we’ve had in this state of not having enough access to care. This panel will take a deeper dive into this issue and how we can solve some of these problems and look at opportunities that are out there to improve behavioral health outcomes.”
The panel of experts included Dr. Jennifer Schneider, assistant professor and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, UNM College of Nursing; Paul Tucker, founding president, Turning Point Recovery Center; and Terry Randolph, chief program officer, Pyx Health. The panel discussed behavioral health concerns, access to care and challenges facing New Mexicans, as well as solutions and best practices to increase behavioral health outcomes for all.
“Our mission is to transform lives,” said Acting Secretary Armijo in her remarks. “We work with our partners—that includes all of you on this virtual meeting today—to design and deliver innovative high-quality health and human services that improve the security and promote independence for New Mexicans and their communities.”
Addressing solutions, Acting Secretary Armijo added, “We’re really focused on removing all administrative barriers and making it as easy as possible for our providers to participate in the Medicaid program. We’re working on aggressively pursuing new opportunities to implement certified community behavioral health clinics…What they will offer to New Mexicans is more rapid access to care, higher quality services, better coordination and integration of care and more robust crisis response.”
The full panel discussion can be viewed here.
###
About The MolinaCares Accord
Established by Molina Healthcare, Inc., The MolinaCares Accord oversees a community investment platform created to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged populations by funding meaningful, measurable, and innovative programs and solutions that improve health, life, and living in local communities. The MolinaCares Accord funds such measures through The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in 2020 by Molina Healthcare, Inc.
About Molina Healthcare
Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company (currently ranked 125), provides managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. Molina Healthcare served approximately 5.3 million members as of March 31, 2023, located across 19 states. For more information about Molina Healthcare, please visit molinahealthcare.com.