Nevada Sen. Rosen joins in Medicaid Public Option Act

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., has joined colleagues in sponsoring legislation that would expand Medicaid eligibility to allow residents to buy in to Medicaid.

“Nevadans deserve access to affordable, high quality care and that’s exactly what the Medicaid public option would offer,” she said.

The plan would allow states like Nevada to give uninsured residents the ability to buy into the Medicaid program but wouldn’t require states to do so.

A similar measure was passed by the 2017 Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Residents would do so through their health exchange and premiums would be capped at 9.5 percent of household income. It would also allow Affordable Care Act tax credits to apply to those buy-in premiums. The bill would provide states a 90 percent federal match for administrative expenses related to those buy-ins and make permanent the Medicare payment increase for primary care providers as well as incentives for states to opt into the ACA Medicaid Expansion.