Nevada Watch
Featured news in this section focuses on Nevada, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Nevada Health Link), the Nevada Division of Insurance (in the Department of Business and Industry), and actions by the state legislature affecting insurance brokers and clients.
A Nevada drug-pricing bill that targeted diabetes drugmakers didn’t make it past the governor’s veto pen, but state lawmakers renewed their efforts with a new bill that not only zeroes in on pharma, but pharmacy benefit managers, too. And this time, the governor is more supportive, according to one report.
Gov. Brian Sandoval on Friday vetoed a bill that would have required drug manufacturers to notify the state in advance of planned price increases for diabetes-related drugs, among other provisions.
There are still many hurdles to go before the bill would become a reality — namely, Gov. Brian Sandoval. Sandoval has supported Medicaid expansion, but hasn't said whether he will sign the bill. There are also plenty of outstanding questions, such as the plan design and plan costs.
Nevada’s Republican Sen. Dean Heller distanced himself from President Donald Trump’s budget proposal on Wednesday, saying he is working with a bipartisan group to preserve Medicaid spending in states that expanded the program.
A proposal aiming to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices cleared its first hurdle at the Nevada Legislature on Wednesday, without a provision that sought a price cap on insulin.
Aetna will complete its withdrawal from Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges for 2018, announcing on Wednesday that lingering financial losses and uncertainty about the marketplaces’ future was prompting it to exit two final states.
As Congress debates the best way to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, including a provision allowing for the expansion of Medicaid in states like Nevada, one state lawmaker is taking a different tack.
U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei says, if he had to vote Monday, he would likely vote against a Republican plan to reform federal health care laws.
Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama's health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.
Roughly 89,000 Nevadans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange for 2017, about 900 more than in the previous year. The jump occurred amid uncertainty over the fate of the legislation and ran counter to a national downturn in Healthcare.gov enrollments.