As thousands lose insurance, Lombardo administration should implement public option

The liquidation of the health insurance company Friday Health Plans of Nevada is a wake-up call. As a physician, I am concerned about the well-being of the over 2,800 Nevadans who will lose this health coverage by the end of August. That's why I'm calling on Gov. Joe Lombardo's administration to support implementing the Nevada public health insurance option.

From my experience as a doctor who has practiced for over 30 years, I know that when people don't have health coverage, they are less likely to see a doctor, less likely to get early intervention for chronic medical conditions, less likely to fill their medications. These all translate to a spiral of worsening health outcomes.

Nevada Health Link and its partner organizations should be commended for stepping in to provide assistance to those who will lose their Friday Health Plan coverage. At the same time, this loss of coverage for thousands of Nevadans illustrates the need for robust implementation of the Nevada Public Option.

Doctors across Nevada were proud to support the passage of the Nevada Public Option in 2021 as a reliable, stable and predictable health care option for those who don't get insurance through their jobs or can't afford to pay for costly health insurance premiums. Unfortunately, the Lombardo administration has been seemingly trying to stall or even prevent its implementation.

Now they have an opportunity to support this law and help the people of our state deal with the real world consequences because of the lack of health insurance. Nevada has too few private health insurance options in the state, as well as price disparities for premiums that unfairly punish rural Nevadans.

What's available is often too expensive. Nevadans who live outside Clark and Washoe counties often have only one plan on the health exchange. Rural Nevadans pay more for health care — an average of $273 more per month than people in Clark County.

This lack of access to health care compounds a preexisting problem in Nevada. One in 7 Nevadans already didn't have health care before the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those who did — around 65 percent — say they can't afford health care and more than half of all Nevadans say they put off care because of cost, according to a study on health inequities from the Nevada Patient Protection Commission.

To me, as a doctor, these statistics are real people I see in my exam room nearly every day. They are families who can't spend money on medicine because they need to scrape every penny together to pay the rent and avoid losing their home. They are Nevadans who make the difficult choice between putting food on the table and getting the pain in their lower abdomen checked out.

I have seen patients put off therapy after an injury, which becomes crippling enough that they can't work. Without a job and a paycheck, they struggle to pay the rent and the utilities. This is the cycle of accumulating disasters that too many Nevadans face today.

For years now, Nevada physicians have urged our elected leaders to pass and implement the Nevada Public Option, because we know that access to quality, affordable health care can help break this cycle of harm and suffering. In addition to the benefits of good health to individuals and families so they have the freedom to live fulfilling lives, data also shows that a public option can help Nevadans save up to $400 million in health care costs over five years.

We don't have to accept a Nevada where our people lose their health insurance and are faced with the devastating prospect of a future without an affordable alternative. I urge Gov. Lombardo and his administration to prevent these losses, and ensure people are able to access health care regardless of their location or income, by implementing the Nevada Public Option without delay.

Dr. Nita Schwartz is a palliative care and hospice medicine specialist in Genoa.

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