Lawmakers want details for insuring poor children

Art Nadler

Thursday, Nov. 6, 1997 | 10:55 a.m.

Frustrated by not having enough information to choose which health plan would best serve Nevada's uninsured poor children, lawmakers ordered its state health care administrator to come back with some hard figures.

Christopher Thompson, administrator for the state Division of Health Care Financing and Policy, told members of the Legislative Committee on Health Care Wednesday that Gov. Bob Miller's "Nevada Check Up" plan would cost about $1,000 per child a year. He said he wasn't sure what Medicaid would pay, but surmised it would be more than $1,000.

"I believe you can cover more children under a managed care program (the basis for Nevada Check Up) because you can control the budget," Thompson said. "While Medicaid offers a broader package, it has problems. You may have problems attracting primary care physicians."

Thompson said his office could pull out information on what Medicaid currently pays, but he thought it might be "highly subjective."

"We need to get the real numbers from the (Health Care) Division," said Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. "You have to compare apples to apples. What about dental, vision and other benefits we are not looking at.

"We might choose a Medicaid program or a hybrid program (with managed care). But to make this decision, we need more data."

The Nevada Check Up plan is calling for the state to take $7 million in unused Medicaid funds and match it with $13 million in federal money. It would be run on a managed-care basis. Miller said the state could care for 20,000 uninsured poor children under this program.

Opponents to Miller's plan said the state actually qualifies for $30 million in federal money, if lawmakers could come up with $16.5 million in matching funds. It's been estimated that about 69,000 children could be cared for under this plan.

"How can we bring more money to the table?" state Sen. Raymond Rawson, R-Las Vegas, asked Thompson. "We would like to shift some money (from other state appropriations) for this program. We are strongly urging you to come back to this committee and tell us what kinds of shifts and changes can be done."

In emphasizing that Nevada Check Up is not the only plan being considered, Rawson assured William Hale, chief executive officer of University Medical Center, that his proposal was "viable." He said it needs revisions on how it would be regulated.

Keith Schwer, executive director of UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research, said a survey to measure Nevada's uninsured population would be ready to mail out by Jan 1. He said a telephone survey would follow in February and March.

Schwer estimated the survey would cost a little more than $100,000. It would cover the state's 17 counties, 14 more than in a 1992 survey.

The survey will cover, in part: whether individuals are disabled and insured; ages of children, their insurance, economical and health status; behavior risk factors affecting health; delineation between children and adults and identifying the most frequent reason a person accesses health care.

Results are expected to be released in May.

The Legislative Committee on Health Care has scheduled its next meeting for 10 a.m. in Las Vegas at the Sawyer State Office Building, 555 E. Washington Ave., Room 4401.