Nevada Senate working on resolution to urge Congress to keep Obamacare

CARSON CITY — A Senate committee voted Thursday to introduce a resolution urging Congress not to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to preserve federal funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood.

A formal introduction in the Nevada Senate could come Friday. The resolution is sponsored by the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

While such a resolution is largely symbolic, it is intended to send a message to Congress of the Legislature’s stance on the issue that will have consequences for Nevadans.

It comes as Republican President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress begin the process to repeal key provisions of the law known as Obamacare that passed under President Barrack Obama. Democrats control both chambers in the Nevada Legislature.

A report released this week by the Congressional Budget Office projected a Republican proposal to repeal the law would leave 24 million Americans uninsured by 2026.

The resolution says an estimated 370,000 Nevadans could lose health insurance coverage, including 181,000 people who became eligible for Medicaid when the program was expanded to include childless adults.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has been working with other governors and Trump administration officials, urging them to include states in any discussions. Sandoval was the first Republican governor to expand Medicaid eligibility under the law and worries an outright repeal will leave hundreds of thousands without health coverage.

Repeal could also put a big hole in the state budget, which receives billions of dollars from the federal government for Medicaid.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.