Cervantes has wild defense for blocking interstate medical compacts

PIÑON POST EXCLUSIVE — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat and longtime trial attorney, is facing renewed scrutiny after the Albuquerque Journal sharply criticized the failure of New Mexico to join interstate medical licensure compacts — and after Cervantes circulated a defensive, lengthy email attempting to explain away his role in delaying the legislation.

The medical compacts, which allow doctors and other licensed health care professionals to practice across state lines while remaining subject to state discipline, have been adopted by more than 40 states. New Mexico, which consistently ranks among the worst states in the nation for physician shortages, particularly in rural areas, remains on the sidelines.

While the Journal editorial focused heavily on trial lawyer–funded advocacy groups that refuse to support the compacts, Cervantes quickly emerged as the central political figure attempting to justify why New Mexico has failed to act.

In an email exclusively obtained by the Piñon Post sent broadly to critics — and copied to the entire Legislature — Cervantes argued that concerns over abortion, “gender-affirming care,” and legislative authority justified delays. He claimed that earlier versions of the compact would have allowed interstate commissions to supersede state law, stating that “any and all state laws… would be subordinate to Commission rules and policies.”

That assertion raised eyebrows among health care reform advocates, who note that dozens of states with widely varying abortion and health care laws have already joined the compacts without surrendering sovereignty. Cervantes conceded in his email that the compact commission has since agreed to accept New Mexico’s requested amendments — undercutting the rationale for continued resistance.

“I am optimistic we will see this compact passed,” Cervantes wrote, despite years of legislative inaction and stalled momentum.

Cervantes also claimed that compacts unfairly restrict a state’s ability to withdraw, writing that “New Mexico should not surrender the Legislature’s role,” and asserting that this provision is also being changed. Critics counter that interstate compacts routinely include withdrawal provisions and that New Mexico participates in many similar agreements without controversy.

Perhaps most striking was Cervantes’ argument that the compact may not significantly increase access to providers because New Mexico already enacted an expedited licensing law years ago — a law he acknowledged “has not been used much by doctors.”

That admission has fueled criticism that Cervantes is effectively conceding failure while arguing against the one reform most experts believe would actually work.

“Adoption of the Compact will no doubt be helpful to access healthcare and particularly by telemedicine,” Cervantes wrote — an acknowledgment that stands in direct tension with his years of hesitation.

Cervantes also pushed back against accusations that he blocked the legislation, insisting he scheduled hearings and that the bill passed his committee. However, reform advocates note that as Judiciary chair — and a plaintiff attorney whose industry benefits from the current malpractice system — Cervantes has wielded enormous influence over whether the legislation ever gained real traction.

The Journal editorial was blunt: silence and obstruction from trial lawyer–aligned figures have consequences. Families continue driving out of state for specialty care. Patients wait months for appointments. Rural hospitals struggle to recruit doctors.

Cervantes closed his email by lamenting that the issue has been “oversimplified for mass consumption,” adding that it “doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker.”

But for New Mexicans unable to find a doctor, the issue is not abstract or academic — and increasingly, patience with excuses appears to be running out.