Nevada’s Health Care Future Statement On State Public Option Legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Holly Silvestri, (702) 340-6262
CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada’s Health Care Future issued the following statement today as lawmakers in Carson City introduced legislation to create a new, state government-controlled health insurance system, also known as the state government option.
“Nevada’s Health Care Future believes every Nevadan deserves access to affordable, high-quality health coverage and care. The most effective way to expand coverage is not creating an unaffordable new government-controlled health insurance system. That would make it harder for Nevadans to get affordable health insurance. The best way to expand coverage is by building and improving on what works today where the free market works together with public programs – like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act – so that those who need coverage the most can get it,” said Nevada’s Health Care Future spokesperson Holly Silvestri.
“We know from recent experience in Washington state – where coverage through the state government option costs as much as 29 percent more than traditional plans – that creating the state government option will fail to address Nevadans’ number one concern when it comes to health care: costs. Especially as the federal government has enacted the largest expansion of affordable coverage in more than a decade, Nevada leaders should work together to encourage Nevadans to get covered under these substantial new benefits, rather than rushing in the last month of the Nevada Legislature to force an unaffordable and unnecessary one-size-fits-all health insurance system on Nevada residents,” Silvestri continued.
“Reducing costs and motivating more of the eligible but unenrolled population to sign up for already-available health care coverage should be policymakers’ priority. Unfortunately, this bill misses that mark by a mile,” Silvestri concluded.
The state government option proposal comes as the Associated Press reports that, with the American Rescue Plan, the federal government has just enacted “the biggest expansion of federal help for health insurance since the Obama-era Affordable Care Act” and Nevada’s Silver State Health Insurance Exchange is increasing subsidies to help make coverage more affordable.
As Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said, “[t]he American Rescue Plan builds upon work in the Affordable Care Act … and Nevadans will benefit from expanded subsidies, lower premiums and access to applying for health insurance outside of the traditional Open Enrollment windows.”
A new analysis by the Brookings Institution highlights the significant new resources now available for Americans to obtain affordable health coverage under ARPA and concludes that elected leaders in Carson City and other state capitals should take “caution against making lasting changes” to their states’ health care policies “until matters are clearer.”
- To learn more about Nevada’s Health Care Future, CLICK HERE.