A bill initially designed to expand Medicaid to undocumented people in Nevada is being scaled back further, but advocates are still asking lawmakers to move forward with the bill.
Under proposed amendments provided to The Nevada Independent, the new version of SB419 would focus on providing state-funded health care coverage to pregnant women, and children under 17 who don’t qualify for Medicaid because of their immigration status. Before being amended, the measure — also known as the Nevada Health Opportunities, Planning, and Expansion (HOPE) Act — intended to expand Medicaid to all income-eligible Nevadans regardless of immigration status, potentially adding tens of thousands of people to the state’s Medicaid rolls.
The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Fabian Donate (D-Las Vegas), was heavily criticized by Republicans for its costs and expected demand it would present to the state and health care system, but it still passed a first committee vote. It now awaits a hearing in a Senate budget committee.
The newest version of the bill proposes to establish a state-funded coverage program similar to Medicaid, which would cost $13.5 million from Nevada Medicaid and about $732,000 from the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services over the two years of the budget cycle to cover children under 17 years old regardless of immigration or citizenship status.