Medicaid

Nevada Medicaid enrollments under federal health care reform have surpassed initial projections and are on pace to reach 500,000 by summer.

The Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada and the Washoe Tribe Head Start Office in Carson City are among the sponsoring agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Child and Adult Care Food Program, Nevada Department of Agriculture announced Friday.

UPDATE: With extended federal jobless benefits in peril, Carson City workforce employee counselors say hundreds of new jobseekers have begun to hit the streets, resumes in hand, looking for work.

Based on recent reports from the CDC, beginning in November 2013, there has been a number of reports of severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults, many of whom were infected with Influenza A, the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus.

CARSON CITY — Now that open enrollment has begun for health insurance plans affected by the Affordable Care Act, Nevadans need to be wary of scammers looking to take advantage of consumer’s uncertainty surrounding this law.

Carson City Health and Human Services is pleased to announce the success of the 2012–13 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Community Outreach Campaign, “Beat the Flu Blues.”

The agency conducted 69 community vaccination clinics that provided more than 10,700 influenza vaccinations throughout the quad-county area of Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties. Our local clinic provided an additional 1,259 flu vaccinations. In all, CCHHS increased the number of flu doses given during the 2012 season by 10 percent.

Nevada son and United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid addressed a joint session of the Nevada State Legislature today in Carson City. Here is the text of his speech:

The 2012 education PISA* rankings indicate that the USA came in at 25th for math, 14th for reading and 17th for science out of 30 countries with only three of those countries spending slightly more money per pupil than America. Yet the mantra for more money, benefits and taxes for education continue just as it has for the last sixty years. If more money will solve the education problem then why hasn't it ever worked in the last sixty years?

Nevadans could soon see one of the biggest expansions of state government in modern history as Medicaid, a program that provides health care coverage to low-income residents, moves to cover more than 170,000 new enrollees by 2015.

As Prepared for Delivery Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013:

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers, Senator Heller, honored guests…...

With widespread flu being reported around the nation, Carson City and Douglas County health officials say they have large supplies of flu vaccine.

Based on recent reports from the CDC, the flu has started to peak nearly 5 weeks early this year, with significant activity reported in over 41 states with 18 deaths reported in children thus far. The predominant current flu strain that is being reported with widespread activity, H3N2 (Influenza A), appears to have good match to the flu strains in this year’s vaccine, according to a news release.

The Sierra Nevada Health Center in Carson City will be offering reduced cost flu vaccines on Dec. 21 and Dec. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. The reduced cost of the flu vaccine is $15. They are accepting new patients who would like to receive the flu vaccine. They are also offering pediatric immunizations on Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 3325 Research Way. No appointment is necessary.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today released budget data that had been sought by state lawmakers after a weeks-long disagreement over whether the information was public.

CARSON CITY – Nevada State Medical Association President Florence Jameson said today that Gov. Brian Sandoval made a “politically courageous and correct” policy decision to expand the Nevada Medicaid program.

The decision will ensure that there will not be a new class of uninsured Nevadans when the federal health coverage changes are implemented in January 2014, said Jameson, a physician.

CARSON CITY – State Senate Republican leaders today commended GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval’s decision to expand the state Medicaid program as a commitment to the health of all Nevadans and a boost for a critical sector of the state’s economy.

“Ensuring that poor Nevadans have access to primary health care through Medicaid is very simply the right thing to do, both for our citizens and our economy,” said Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Henderson. “It will reduce our rate of uninsured and provide individuals with greater economic security.”

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he will include 78,000 additional people in Nevada’s Medicaid program as provided for under the federal Affordable Care Act.

“Though I have never liked the Affordable Care Act because of the individual mandate it places on citizens, the increased burden on businesses and concerns about access to health care, the law has been upheld by the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement. “As such, I am forced to accept it as today’s reality and I have decided to expand Nevada’s Medicaid coverage.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada State Democratic Party today said Gov. Brian Sandoval should immediately disclose state agency budget requests to the Legislature and public.

Some state lawmakers expressed concern at an Interim Finance Committee meeting in October that the Sandoval administration had not provided them with information about state agency requests over and above their base budget requests, known as “items for special consideration.”

CARSON CITY – The impacts of the so-called “fiscal cliff” on Nevada’s state budget would likely be less significant than for many other states because of our lower dependence on federal spending, according to an analysis by the Pew Center on the States.

And so it begins...

http://nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/floodgates-open-on-new-health-...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/6125-proposed-regulations-and-notificati...

http://www.regulations.gov/#!home;tab=search

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today his administration has fully complied with a requirement in state law to provide preliminary state budget data to lawmakers and their staff.

“The agency requests have been presented to the Legislature in accordance with the law,” he said. “I don’t see any problems.”

CARSON CITY – A dispute has emerged between Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature over what information in the initial state agency request budget should be made available to legislative staff and the public.

At a meeting of the Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee today, state Budget Director Jeff Mohlenkamp was asked about what is considered by legislative staff to be a departure from past practice regarding the budget information provided to legislative fiscal staff and the public.

CARSON CITY – A behavioral health company based in Las Vegas was fined $125,000 today in a Medicaid fraud case involving the failure to maintain adequate records to support Medicaid claims.

Rainbow Child and Family Services was sentenced for one gross misdemeanor offense of intentional failure to maintain adequate records by Clark County District Judge Valerie Adair and ordered to pay the $125,000 in restitution, penalties, and costs.

In partnership with Nevada Volunteers, Nevada Health Centers invites patients to enter to win a Nintendo Wii as part of “National Make a Difference Day.”
Happy, Healthy Halloween will be on Friday, October 26 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The community is encouraged to come in to Sierra Nevada Health Center to enter the drawing for the Nintendo Wii, pick-up healthy eating habits literature and healthy snacks. Nevada Health Centers promotes living an active lifestyle to improve overall health and to decrease obesity.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s next two-year general fund budget would grow by $279 million to $6.46 billion based on the initial spending requests submitted by state agencies, information released today by the Budget Division shows.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today that there are a large number of variables in play as he prepares his 2013-15 budget, including who wins the presidential election on Nov. 6.

Sandoval said a decision on whether to expand Nevada’s Medicaid program to cover newly eligible residents under the Affordable Care Act will wait for that result, since Gov. Mitt Romney has said he wants to repeal the law.

UnitedHealthcare and YSA are inviting schools and other community-based nonprofit organizations in Nevada to “Step into Service” by applying for UnitedHealth HEROES grants.

UnitedHealth HEROES is a wellness initiative designed to encourage young people, working with educators and youth leaders, to create and implement walking, running or hiking programs aimed at helping fight childhood obesity.

CARSON CITY – The two candidates in the race for the state Senate District 5 seat in Henderson debated the issues today in a televised exchange, finding more agreement than division on the all important subject of education reform.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that Aurora Volero-Alvarez, 61, of Las Vegas, has been sentenced in a Medicaid fraud case involving the false reporting of personal care services.

CARSON CITY – A televised debate today between the two candidates for the state Senate seat in district 9 in Las Vegas  - viewed as critical by both major parties – got off to a rocky start for Democrat Justin Jones.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Division of Insurance is seeking public input on the selection of Nevada’s essential health benefits plan.
The essential health benefits plan for Nevada will be the benchmark set of health care services that will be required in all individual and small group health insurance plans starting in 2014.