LETTER: Lombardo’s invitro veto makes sense
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s veto of the invitro fertilization bill was a fair move considering it would apply only to all groups with 51-plus employees except those who work for the state or school district. All Nevada Public Employee Benefit Program workers wouldn’t have been included in this bill because of the unknown downside of how this would impact premiums and claims.
The insurance carriers would have increased premiums because of the potential adverse impact on claims. Invitro services don’t always work, which is costly. However, the fear associated with invitro is pre-mature births and the birth of more than one child. These risk factors are not well-understood so far. Health insurance inflation doesn’t get the press it needs.
Those who get pregnant naturally have a risk of premature births, which is the No. 1 fear of every insurance carrier. The costs can be $65,000 and up, depending how healthy the baby is and how pre-mature the birth is.
If our legislators are going to pass laws for the masses, they should include all of our state’s constituents. Why should public employees be excluded? I believe this potentially opens up a discrimination lawsuit against our state. I was told that such exceptions are common, as legislators don’t want to burden the bottom line for the state. But how about the private-sector’s bottom line? Do any of these politicians ever consider the adverse impact some of their bills have on the private sector?
