Hispano Chamber deserves better treatment

Advocacy group cites ‘irregularities’ in contract’s RFP process

The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber was disheartened to see its good name sullied on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber has worked tirelessly for more than 40 years helping small businesses and the Hispanic community in New Mexico, which comprises 50 percent of our state’s population. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber has also questioned why qualified New Mexicans and Hispanics are not considered for leadership positions; we will continue to raise this question, as all New Mexicans should.

To mischaracterize the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber’s concerns as simple resentment and race-based is offensive and inaccurate. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber did not take its decision to protest the $3.2 million contract award lightly. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber did so only because it was troubled by a series of perceived irregularities and lack of transparency in the RFP process. In October 2015, the Legislative Finance Committee expressed similar concerns.

Health care directly affects the Hispanic population and New Mexico small businesses disproportionately. Consequently, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber has been a contractor to beWellnm, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Exchange, created pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, for the past several years.

The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber is pursuing its lawful protest in good faith. The beWellnm request for proposal and the beWellnm procurement policy allow for such protest. Although it was urged to do so, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber had no intention to discuss its protest in the media. The filing of a lawsuit and the Journal article has made this matter public.

The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber has continually asked beWellnm to resolve its protest amicably, in private and promptly. BeWellnm invited the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber to propose a resolution of the protest, which the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber did at a March 29 meeting with beWellnm staff. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber also urged beWellnm to decide its protest, which has been pending for over five months, in a prompt and efficient manner.

Regardless of the outcome of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber’s protest, the need for health care is unquestionable — all New Mexicans deserve access to better, more affordable health care that is the result of a transparent fair process.