New Mexico plans to extend contracts with existing Medicaid providers

But the department, which was forced to restart its procurement process after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham abruptly pulled the plug on the awarding of new contracts, won't have new providers in place before 2023 is up.

The department, which has yet to issue a new request for proposals from health insurance companies to deliver services to the nearly 1 million New Mexicans on Medicaid, instead will extend the contracts of its existing providers for an additional six months, an agency spokeswoman said Friday.

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Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.

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