This bill amends the definition of "health care practitioner" in New Mexico law to include veterinarians, thereby extending certain legal protections and provisions to them. Specifically, it updates Section 24A-4-1 NMSA 1978 to add veterinarians to the list of health care practitioners, which already includes dentists, physicians, and other medical professionals. The bill also modifies Section 24A-4-5 NMSA 1978 to clarify the applicability of the provisions to agreements involving health care practitioners, including those executed on or after specific dates.

Additionally, the bill specifies that the provisions of Chapter 24A, Article 4 NMSA 1978 will apply to agreements involving veterinarians starting from the effective date of the 2025 act. This inclusion aims to ensure that agreements involving veterinarians are treated similarly to those of other health care practitioners, making certain provisions void, unenforceable, and against public policy if they violate established standards.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 24A-4-1, 24A-4-5