Plan could mean health coverage for more Nevadans

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, July 15, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

At least another 10,000 Nevadans could have health coverage under a plan approved by a legislative subcommittee on Wednesday.

Leaders on the health subcommittee said they would present their plan to the full state Legislature in February. It would take advantage of federal funds from the State Children's Health Insurance Program that have been allocated to Nevada but have not been used.

Nevada has the fifth-worst insurance rate in the country, largely because it has 15,000 employers who can't afford to provide insurance to 78,000 employees, according to Peter Burns, a consultant hired by the subcommittee.

The new plan would extend coverage to those employees and several other groups that go without insurance.

Most of the program would be funded with the SCHIP funds, according to a report by Burns. The rest, said Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, would be shifted from the state's Indigent Accident Fund and, potentially, from the state's human resources department.

"What we're talking about is finding money we already have in the budget that we could move around," she said.

Legislators argue that the plan would save the state money in the long run because uninsured people go to emergency rooms, which are more expensive, when they need medical help.

Also, the plan would help cover pregnant women, and studies show that women who go without prenatal care typically incur more medical costs. Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, pointed out that some children whose mothers experience problems during their pregnancy need special education in school.

"It's not just health care dollars that will be saved with this investment," she said.

Under the plan, coverage would be provided to:

Federal poverty guidelines for a family of four is now $18,850.

Costs of insurance would be shared among the employee, the employer, the state and the federal government. The state's program would provide up to $100 per employee per month to help employees pay the rest of the costs.

About 2,000 people would be covered in the first year, with another 2,000 people added each year up to 8,000 people. There are currently 78,000 employees of 15,000 small businesses in Nevada that do not offer health insurance.

While the state now shoulders the burden of health costs for many in this group who visit hospitals for medical service, this program would allow the state to share the burden with the federal government, Burns' report said.