LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo is announcing the launch of the new Nevada Health Authority.
The NVHA was created by the passage of Senate Bill 494. Lombardo says the new authority will further streamline the management of state health care.
“I outlined our vision for the Nevada Health Authority in my State of the State Address, and I’m pleased to see it come to fruition today through bipartisan support,” said Governor Lombardo. “This new authority will help Nevada capitalize on its strong purchasing power when it comes to health insurance and get a better deal for taxpayers, all while offering better insurance options for eligible Nevadans. The creation of the Nevada Health Authority is a critical step forward in our efforts to expand health care access across our state.”
The new authority will house several key health care programs, including Medicaid, the state’s health insurance exchange and the public employees’ benefits program.
“The goals of this effort and the new Nevada Health Authority have been resoundingly clear since the beginning: unify similarly aligned agencies to gain more efficiencies in state government, increase the state’s purchasing power for health care, lower the costs of health care for Nevadans, bring more health care providers to the state, improve health care quality, and streamline eligibility for programs for Nevadans,”said Stacie Weeks, incoming Director of the Nevada Health Authority. “I’m delighted to begin leading the authority and begin its important work in expanding access to quality and affordable healthcare.”
As mandated by SB494, the agency would mean:
- The elimination of the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services
- Revising the provisions governing the operation of the public employees benefits program and Medicaid
- Require certain reporting on the costs of health insurance for retired state employees
- Authorize the Authority to require the reporting of certain information on the cost of certain prescription drugs.
You can read the full text of the bill here.
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