On July 25, 2024 CMS approved New Mexico’s Turquoise Care 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver renewal request, adding 16 new benefits – including medical respite care – for Medicaid eligible individuals.
The State proposed to pilot a medical respite program, operated by Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless in partnership with First Nations Healthsource, Heading Home, University of New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque, by transforming part of a former hospital that was no longer in use into a medical respite unit. The Gateway Center opened in January 2025 and began delivering care February 2025. An individual seeking care must be referred by the partner hospital and is eligible for 60 days of medical respite care, after which their care needs will be reassessed to determine the appropriate extension period, not to exceed six months per 12-month period.
The New Mexico Health Care Authority will use this pilot site to develop best practices and intends to expand medical respite services to nine additional sites over the course of the 5-year demonstration period, with the schedule to be determined by capacity. The State is using a tiered reimbursement model, allowing programs to provide different levels of clinical services and gain reimbursement based on their variety of offerings.
