New Mexico is in good shape now that revenues are lining up with projections made earlier this year when lawmakers were forced to weigh dropping oil and gas prices to hammer out the state budget.
But a top legislative finance expert warned during a meeting Wednesday in Santa Fe that future years will be challenging due to the state's decision to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income residents under the federal health care overhaul.
The director of the Legislative Finance Committee, David Abbey, says more than 200,000 people have come onto the rolls in recent years. That brings the total in New Mexico to 800,000.
Once the rate of federal cost-sharing for the expansion drops to 90 percent, Abbey says New Mexico's share is expected to balloon to about $120 million.
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