Lawmakers in New Mexico are working to address the results of a survey that identified a significant number of physicians looking to leave the state, KRQE News reported Jan. 19.
The survey, conducted by the Legislative Finance Committee and the New Mexico Medical Board, surveyed more than 1,200 physicians in December 2025 who are either currently practicing in or used to practice in New Mexico.
The survey found that 65% of physicians were considering leaving the state, according to the report. Among those physicians, 83% cited potential punitive measures as a result of losing a malpractice case as their reason for exiting the state. Another 76% said that medical malpractice rates were too high, and were a reason for considering a move.
“Certainly very sobering and bracing information and clearly things that we need to work on this session,” Rep. Nathan Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces, told the publication.
The survey results come a week after Democrats in the legislature announced their intention to address the state’s physician shortage by focusing on lowering healthcare costs for patients, expanding loan repayment for physicians and creating a licensure pathway for international physicians.
In January 2025, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced a bill that would cap attorney’s fees in medical malpractice lawsuits, end lump-sum payouts from the patient compensation fund and send 75% of any punitive damages awarded in malpractice cases to a new public fund designed to improve patient safety.
