Poles apart on health care, with a gulf between

Patrick J. Coolican

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 | 7:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY - A glimpse inside a legislative hearing room Tuesday suggests how hard it can be for Nevada to take even baby steps in improving health care. A joint Assembly and Senate committee was discussing a program to give pre natal care to 1,000 working women who don't have health insurance.

It's not going to elevate the state to anywhere near the national average in terms of pre natal care. Nevada lags near the bottom because one-fourth to one-fifth of all Nevadans lack health insurance.

Still, the program will reduce, however slightly, the number of children born without pre natal care, which could mean fewer children born underweight and sick.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, noted that the program included no money for getting the word out so women know about it. She suggested a little something be spent on that.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, disagreed. She said she had talked to obstetricians who told her the women "don't want pre natal care, even if it was available."

The doctors "are not seeing the type of person taking care of themselves, let alone the baby," she said.

Buckley's reply: "This program is for people who are working. And their only crime is that their employer doesn't have health insurance. I can't imagine anything worse: You're working for a living, you're pregnant, you want pre natal care and you can't get it."

The program passed out of committee. It s final passage isn't certain, however.