KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasNevada Won't Pull Out of Medicaid
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Gibbons says he's decided against opting Nevada out of Medicaid, but will urge lawmakers and the state's congressional delegation to work to curb escalating costs.
Medicaid provides health coverage for the state's most needy residents. The federal government pays about two-thirds of the overall cost. Gibbons earlier said he'd consider pulling out of the program because of escalating caseloads and costs that would have swelled under health care legislation pending in Congress.
The bill would have added more than 100,000 Nevadans to Medicaid and cost the state general fund about more than $600 million over the next six years. He says the average number of Nevadans receiving Medicaid has grown from 96,000 per month in 2000 to more than 238,000 a month ago.
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