A new actuarial study commissioned by an anti-public option organization says the Silver State’s public health insurance option law could exacerbate Nevada’s existing health care provider shortage and reduce access to care. The results of the study — conducted by Wakely Consulting Group, which undertook the actuarial analysis for Colorado’s public option and helped the state implement it — projected that Nevada’s public option law could reduce competition in the Silver State’s health care market, potentially leading some insurers to depart.
By Tabitha Mueller The Nevada Independent After the state of Nevada liquidated her health insurer in July, cancer patient Jean Fenolio faced uncertainty in finding new health insurance and the timing of when she could receive a double mastectomy. Fenolio, 46, was worried about how she would pay for surgery given she had already reached her out-of-pocket maximum for the year with her previous insurer, Friday Health Plans, and her previous payments would not carry over to a new insurer. However, with the help of the state’s insurance marketplace, Nevada Health Link, Fenolio was able to sign up for new insurance and get coverage for her surgery. Community donations through a GoFundMe page offset the other surgery costs, special surgical bras, shirts for after the surgery and medications. “That was fantastic,” Fenolio said in a recent interview about the financial support from the community. “It has cost quite a bit with the new insurance and trying to figure everything out and the co-pays … with me not being able to go to work.” Fenolio was one of more than 2,670 Nevadans who lost their Friday Health Plans coverage after state regulators liquidated the company because of its “hazardous financial conditions” and an inability to repay debts or achieve solvency. The company also faces liquidation in Colorado and Texas, as well as receivership in Georgia, Oklahoma and North Carolina. As of Nov. 1, about 74 percent (1,988 people) had reenrolled with a new insurer through the state’s health insurance marketplace. Most reenrollments occurred during a special enrollment period the exchange opened up before the state terminated Friday Health Plans at the end of October. Russell Cook, executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, said despite the data indicating that 685 people have entirely lost their health care coverage, a “significant number” had enrolled themselves in a new insurance program outside the exchange, sometimes with help from the Nevada Health Link team. In an email, Cook said many of those individuals lived in rural counties and had limited insurance options on the exchange after Friday left the marketplace. He noted that the exchange worked directly with Fenolio throughout August to resolve a Medicaid eligibility issue and get her enrolled in an Aetna health plan with coverage starting Sept. 1. Cook added that though the special enrollment period expired at the end of October, those affected by the liquidation of Friday Health Plans can still enroll in 2023 coverage if they contact Nevada Health Link’s call center and request an exemption. Future steps Though her surgery went well and healing is moving along, Fenolio said doctors found cancer cells in a lymph node, and she will need to have more radiation treatment in the future. “Every time I think I See PLAN, Page 26 PLAN — From Page 2 see a light at the end of the tunnel, something else happens,” Fenolio said. She added that her new insurer, Aetna, has declined some of the claims, but they covered her surgery, which was the biggest hurdle. But she’s since received bills that Friday Health Plans did not cover, including some dated as far back as April. “A lot of them aren’t super expensive, so I’m just kind of paying them as I go,” Fenolio said. “It just makes my life a little bit easier to just know that they’re paid and not fight it and not hassle with it … because that’s one less thing I have to worry about.” Officials with the Nevada Division of Insurance and the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange said former Friday Health Plans clients with open claims or payment issues should contact the special deputy receiver via email, who was appointed to ensure all applicable claims are paid. They also noted that Nevada has a Guaranty Association in place that serves as a safety net so Nevada consumers do not have to pay claims from their own pockets. In the meantime, Fenolio said she and her longtime partner, Pete Atkins, are taking life one day at a time. “We’re doing OK,” Fenolio said. “I just sit around and try to heal.”
Mental and physical health are both vitally important to any community, but especially to rural communities, which the U.S. Census Bureau reports to be about 15 percent of the population. National Rural Health Day is celebrated on the third Thursday of every November, Nov. 16, 2023, highlighting some of these unique challenges and how they might be addressed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that rural Americans are at greater risk of death from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke than those in urban areas.
Whether it be for Christmas or other shopping, doctors appointments, or perhaps school sports trips, many from Humboldt, Lander, and Pershing Counties travel to Reno, NV on Interstate 80 (I-80) on a regular basis. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is asking for comments from the public in their consideration of expanding the I-80 corridor from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway. The comment period closes on Nov. 22 and Humboldt Economic Development Officer and Co-Director of the Nevada 95-80 Regional Development Authority Michelle Hammond-Allen explained that it is vital that the rural counties be involved in this process, even if the expansion is not right out the backdoor.
Development within the Winnemucca Industrial Park is expected to take place as the Winnemucca City Council approved a lease agreement on Nov. 7 with intent by Lithium Nevada to construct a transloading terminal for the materials needed for production at their mine in Orovada.
With an estimated 1997 people set to be working on the Thacker Pass lithium mine site throughout construction, Lithium Americas is constructing a temporary workforce hub in East Winnemucca, with the first units having arrived in October and the final units expected to arrive in February 2024. The noticeable construction began in January and will hopefully be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Lithium officials.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Southern California street gang leader pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder in the 1996 killing of rap music icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas __ a charge prompted by his own descriptions in recent years about orchestrating the deadly drive-by shooting.
A toddler in Las Vegas was hospitalized in critical condition after finding a gun on a day care playground that had been discarded by a teenager who was fleeing after opening fire on a city bus, authorities announced Friday.
District leaders and partners will be meeting on Nov. 8 for the 2023 Nevada Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting in Winnemucca, Nevada.
The Nevada Commission on Mentoring (NCOM) announced it is accepting applications for FY2024 Micro-grants. Micro-grants are available to non-profit organizations or programs in the State of Nevada which provide mentorship to students.
SPARKS — The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) has approximately $270,000 available for projects to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in the state through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP).
Officials with the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) announced Tuesday they’re launching a $10 million state-funded grant program that will provide resources to 20,000 classrooms.
Nov. 1 is now officially Nevada Health Coverage Day after Gov. Joe Lombardo issued a proclamation Wednesday morning raising awareness about the importance of health insurance. Wednesday also marked the start of the 76-day open enrollment period for health or dental care plans through Nevada Health Link, the state’s health insurance marketplace created through the Affordable Care Act for Nevadans who are uninsured, do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, and are not getting coverage through their employer.
A panel of students, faculty and administrators from across the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) met Wednesday with a single goal: Come up with ways to cover a $63 million hole in the state’s public college and university budgets. That advisory committee’s final recommendation will remain secret for several more weeks until the publishing of a formal Board of Regents meeting agenda later this month. As a committee with one elected regent as a member, it is not bound by the state’s open meeting law.
Last week, a top executive from Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI), which owns the proposed site for a Las Vegas ballpark, suggested the company might increase its investment in the project. A few hours later, Major League Baseball's commissioner signaled his worry that a proposed ballot referendum could remove the public financing package.