Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

Currently: 58° | Complete forecast | Log in

Editorial:

REFORM WILL HELP NEVADA

Health care needs improvements

Fri, Jan 1, 2010 (3 a.m.)

Critics have harshly attacked the health care reform legislation the Senate passed on Christmas Eve, yet they have done so disingenuously.

Labeling it a government takeover or a deficit busting bill, they ignore the facts that the bill is designed to increase competition and actually reduce the deficit.

Gov. Jim Gibbons has decried the legislation as bad for business, saying that many businesses will drop health care benefits for their employees, which we find difficult to believe because the bill provides incentives for companies and people to buy insurance.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has unfairly been portrayed as having not done enough to help the state. This legislation will do much toward helping Nevadans and businesses, and Reid, who has brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the state for health care projects, provided the leadership to get it passed.

Under the plan, 24,000 small businesses in Nevada will be eligible to receive tax credits that will make coverage more affordable for their employers. That is a huge benefit considering the cost of insurance to employers as well as employees.

As well, more than 500,000 Nevadans who do not have insurance will qualify for affordable plans and more than 300,000 will be eligible for tax credits to help them purchase insurance. And the Medicare premiums for 328,000 Nevadans will be lowered.

As things stand now, taxpayers and the insured end up paying the cost of medical care for the uninsured because the expense is passed on through public medical services and higher insurance premiums. Insuring more people should reduce the taxpayers’ burden and ease the increases in premiums.

The legislation awaits negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile the differences in the versions of the bill each chamber passed. Republicans have vowed to continue fighting what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called “a monstrosity.” However, Republicans have offered neither a better plan nor ways to improve the nation’s health care system. Should the bill fail, costs will continue to spiral out of control while millions will remain without insurance. That doesn’t sound like a good plan at all.

Discussion: 2 comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.

Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.

No trusted comments have been posted.

Post a comment

Commenting requires registration.

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

If you would like to submit your comment as a letter to the editor, you may submit it here.

Most Popular

  • Viewed
  • Discussed
  • E-mailed
  • Facebook