Health Insurance

CARSON CITY – It’s a rare occurrence that a governor calls a federal law “unconstitutional” one minute and advocates implementing that same law a minute later.

But that’s what happened earlier this week when Gov. Brian Sandoval called for Nevada to move forward with creating the Nevada Health Insurance Exchange, one of the mandates under the Obama administration’s 2010 health care bill.

CARSON CITY – Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval said today he is pleased with the ruling by a federal judge in Virginia finding a key element of the new national health care law unconstitutional.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The Nevada State Medical Association believes consumers should have access to clear and understandable information about the cost and coverage provided under health care insurance policies before they sign on the dotted line.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – The private attorney working on Nevada’s challenge to the new national health care law says a federal judge in Florida should rule on the case by January, setting the stage for an appeal that ultimately is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Taxes, the state budget and a looming revenue shortfall in 2011 took center stage Thursday in the second debate between the two major party candidates for Nevada governor.

CARSON CITY – Republican state treasurer candidate Steve Martin said today the Democratic incumbent is playing politics by delaying a discussion involving an unprecedented $50 million investment loss until after the Nov. 2 general election.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
Republican Congressional candidate Joe Heck said today he expects the race between him and incumbent Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., to be decided by no more than 2 percentage points in the November general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – More than 250 new bill requests were filed for drafting last week by lawmakers and others on issues ranging from requiring health insurance plans to cover acupuncture treatments to implementing a four-year cooling off period before former lawmakers could work as lobbyists.

Henderson-area small businesses struggling to stay afloat in Nevada’s ongoing recession can look to their neighborhood chamber of commerce for assistance in these tough economic times.
Saint Mary’s Health Plans, in cooperation with the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, is offering two health plans exclusively for chamber members.

A job fair to fill 130 positions at the Carson City Kohl's store continues through Thursday at the Carson City Plaza Hotel Conference Room.

Applicants can go to the job fair today, which runs through 7 tonight, or can apply online at www.kohlscareers.com, or call (877) 639-5645. The store will be at the former Mervyn’s building on South Carson Street between Koontz and Eagle Station lanes, and is set to open in September.

Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada could find a way out of its $3 billion revenue shortfall next year without raising taxes, but only if the Legislature looks at restructuring the way the state and local governments provide and pay for services, the state’s top fiscal officer said yesterday.

Fundraiser for Sharron Angle, Food, music, dunking booth, lots of fun. Come meet Sharron and help her with her campaign agains Harry Reid.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – State governments across the country are facing budget deficits and a tough economy right now, but failure to get a handle on long-term liabilities, from unfunded pensions to subsidized health care for retired workers, could jeopardize any recovery, a fiscal expert said today.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – State Budget Director Andrew Clinger yesterday painted a bleak picture of Nevada’s next two-year spending plan, saying under current tax and spending levels every single program and agency except for education would have to be eliminated to balance the budget.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Division of Insurance is alerting Nevadans to a new federal website for information about the temporary high risk health insurance pool program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The pool, which is to provide coverage to uninsured individuals with pre-existing conditions, is accepting applications beginning today.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons said today he believes Nevada and other states will prevail in their court challenge of the federal health care law following the filing of a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice.

CARSON CITY – A proposal to simplify, broaden and stabilize Nevada’s tax base by expanding and reducing the sales tax to include services from haircuts to legal advice is generating some support and plenty of questions from lawmakers and interest groups.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons is touting his successes in implementing recommendations from his SAGE Commission on ways to improve efficiencies and save money in state government, but many of the proposals remain in progress or will require action by the 2011 Legislature.

CARSON CITY – With federally mandated health insurance now the law of the land barring a successful legal challenge, some state lawmakers say it is more urgent than ever to create competition among insurance providers by allowing Nevada residents to buy polices from out of state companies.

CARSON CITY – Las Vegas Assemblywoman Kathy McClain and Secretary of State Ross Miller reached an agreement today resolving  a complaint that she inappropriately used campaign funds to pay for her Clark County retirement contributions while serving as a lawmaker.
McClain, D-Las Vegas, agreed to make a $7,276 personal contribution to Safe Nest, a Las Vegas nonprofit supporting abused women, to cover the cost of the contribution she had made in 2009 to the Public Employees Retirement System from her campaign fund.

I've always liked Dean Heller. We might disagree politically, but my interactions with him have always been friendly. He seems like a truly nice person, the opposite of the what we see in some other Nevada politicians.

But watching him this week at the NNDA breakfast reminded me that Dean's ambition is clearly more important than adherence to truth.

You see, Dean used to come off as a lot more moderate than he does today. As assemblyman and Secretary of State, he championed causes that don't exactly line up with the national GOP's ideology.

Four attorneys with ties to the issues and parties of Nevada’s health care reform lawsuit gave their perspectives to media and political bloggers during a Nevada News Bureau-hosted conference call this afternoon.
Mark Hutchison, lead counsel for Governor Gibbons’ newly retained pro-bono team, said he plans to participate in a conference with US District Court Judge Roger Vinson next week as part of the process to join Florida and other states in an amended complaint challenging the federal government on provisions in the recently passed health care legislation.

CARSON CITY – Nevada has crafted the proper policies of low taxes and small government that has helped it weather the current recession, and these same policies have positioned the state to respond favorably when the economic recovery takes hold, according to a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

The recently-passed health insurance reform bill will lead to major changes for Nevada’s Medicaid program.

A dozen community and labor groups from Nevada have signed onto a letter to Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto urging her to support, not file suit, over federal health care reform.
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons this week demanded the Attorney General join a lawsuit filed by 14 other Attorneys General to block implementation of federal health care reform, a package of changes that critics of the lawsuits claim are needed in Nevada, where an estimated 400,000 men, women and children lack health insurance coverage.

Tracking Sunday's congressional health care vote, Carson Now quoted Congressman Dean Heller with a statement from his Web site.

Congressman Dean Heller, firmly standing with his party and the health insurance industry, rejected a Democratic-led plan to provide affordable health care for Northern Nevadans.

CARSON CITY – Gov.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said today that dozens of cuts proposed by Gov.

One of the reasons I ran for President was because I believed so strongly that the voices of everyday Americans, hardworking folks doing everything they can to stay afloat, just weren’t being heard ov