A bill that would have required insurance companies to pay for out-of-network care for Nevadans living more than 25 miles from an in-network provider was gutted Wednesday after the sponsor described it as unworkable as written.

Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen, D-Henderson, has been named to chair the Health and Human Services Committee.

A Las Vegas couple in their early 60s making $65,800 a year can receive nearly $1,200 in monthly subsidies from the federal government to buy health insurance.

When Beverly Dunn called her new primary care doctor’s office last November to schedule an annual checkup, she assumed her Medicare coverage would pick up most of the tab.

They’re just as perplexed as the rest of us over the ever-rising cost of health care premiums. Now some states are moving to control costs of state employee health plans. And it’s triggering alarm from the hospital industry. The strategy: Use Medicare reimbursement rates to recalibrate how they pay hospitals. If the gamble pays off, more private-sector employers could start doing the same thing.

Health care systems have been buying up one another, and physician practices, at an alarming rate. The 115 announced health care system deals in 2017 was a record, with 2018’s 90 close behind.