Health care
Humbug from Nevada's Trial Lawyers
Nevada’s crisis in medical malpractice liability is an extremely serious matter. The public health itself is at stake, because of the doctors we’re losing and the impact of that fact on health care access.
The Big House, Inc.
Governor Kenny Guinn’s recent attempt to privatize health services in Nevada’s prisons terrified medical workers at the Silver State’s government-run correctional facilities. The State of Nevada Employees Association declared all-out war on the proposal, a largely sympathetic media toed the union’s line, and legislators of both parties either ignored or demonized the notion of privatized health care in Nevada’s prisons. In what came as no surprise to close observers of Nevada’s political scene, when the legislative session concluded the governor’s privatization proposal was dead. But when compared with the nation’s undeniable privatized-corrections trend, Guinn’s plan to allow companies to take over medical services at Nevada’s prisons was quite modest. Privatized prison construction and operation have been adopted by the federal government and a growing number of states—and studies clearly show that corporations can both build and manage correctional facilities more cheaply than the public sector.
MediKid: The Evil Side of Doing Good
Under the guise of providing needy children with health coverage, the president and Congress enacted a wasteful program, dubbed "MediKid," as part of the 1997 budget deal. Before leaving office, Governor Bob Miller seized upon the Clinton initiative, which amounted to incrementalized "Hillary Care," naming it Nevada Check Up. It was part of a larger intrusive program called Family to Family made available shortly thereafter. Financed partly through Medicaid cuts and partly through increased taxes on the poorest Americans, MediKid was created out of a weak understanding of health insurance and children’s health care needs. Nevada will only compound the initial mistakes of the ill-conceived Clinton/Miller plans if it expands Nevada Check Up. In spite of its good intentions, the program neglects children’s real health needs and places them in a health care system where bureaucrats and politicians—rather than parents and health care professionals—control decisions and spending. Far from improving our children’s health, the proposed MediKid expansion will actually bring us ever closer to universal government-run health care.
Medical Plan for Small Businesses Offers Investment Options
Finally, after years of debate, tax-free Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are available for the self-employed in Nevada. As of New Year’s Day, tenacious resistors of managed care-styled health care plans now have other options which do not employ such negative cost saving incentives as rationing and corporate profit in place of sound medical decisions. This is not the run-of-the-mill health care plan because MSAs carry investment options which the other plans do not have.
Insurance Reform Needed: Lay Decision Makers Delay Treatment
In these times of health care reform, insurance companies require that pre-authorization be obtained for surgical procedures recommended by a physician before insurance reimbursement can be considered. If the insurance company does not feel that the recommended procedure meets the standards of medical necessity the patient and the physician may appeal their decision , ands the claim then goes to the medial review department. The problem lies in that the "reviewer" is rarely a physician from the same medical specialty as the procedure in question and is usually a person employed by the insurance company. The reviewer thus has a financial interest in the company which may tend to slant the reviewer’s consideration of the claim in favor of their employer over the patient‘s best interest.
Nevada's Health
An Analysis of Health Care Options for Nevada's Working Uninsured
It is estimated that this year in America, the private and public sectors will spend 666 billion dollars (14 percent of our Gross National Product) on health care. Despite this staggering commitment of resources, 35.7 million people, or approximately 13.5 percent of all Americans, are lacking medical insurance. Without insurance coverage or ready cash, uninsured persons may be denied hospital care, even in cases of emergency.
Mapping the Maze of SIIS
SIIS linked to Sensible Health Care Reform
A $2.2 billion unfunded liability currently exists in the State Industrial Insurance System, according to the insurance commissioner's recent audit.
Over the last five years medical expenditures have risen an astounding 300-450 percent.
Since by statue, private insurance carriers are not allowed to write coverage in Nevada, SIIS can rightly be termed a government monopoly.
