Open enrollment for health insurance plans on Nevada Health Link started nearly a week ago. The Guinn Center says about 400,000 Nevadans do not have health insurance. Nevada has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country. Officials hope more people will sign up for a health insurance policy, and they say they are off to a good start.
"We're getting our arms around running our own state-based exchange," Heather Korbulic, Executive Director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange said. "We're taking a look at isolated issues and addressing them really quickly but for the most part, people are enrolling and that's the good news story."
Lawmakers are encouraging people to head to nevadahealthlink.com to find a plan. About 120,000 people qualify for a policy through the exchange and about 77,000 of them qualify for subsidies.
"Don't be scared of looking at the exchange," Assem. Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno said. "Don't be scared of looking at health insurance and the cos of it. We've got some really good options for people."
The individual mandate, which required Americans to have insurance or pay a penalty was repealed. People do not have to buy insurance if they do not want to, but lawmakers say they should buy it. They say it is important, not just for medical emergencies but for preventative care.
"For prenatal screenings, for vaccines, for regular checkups," Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno said. "All of those things are covered under these plans that are available on Nevada Health Link."
It's estimated that about 13 percent of Nevadans do not have health insurance. Many of those are young, healthy people who decide not to buy it. Lawmakers say they should still find a health plan because you never know when you will need it.
"My husband got a migraine one day," Assem. Sarah Peters, D-Reno said. "He had never had a migraine before. He though he was dying. I though he was having a stroke. He was 24. That's why you should get insurance."
"If you're young and you're healthy, god bless you," Kieckhefer said. "That's a good thing. Embrace it but protect it."
The state legislature passed a number of bills that it says will strengthen access to health care in Nevada, including the new state-based system. It removes Nevada from the federal platform, healthcare.gov.
"It saves the state and actually saves the rate payers millions of dollars in costs but it also gives the state more control over enrollment and benefit crafting and things like that," Kieckhefer said.
Other legislation protects people with pre-existing conditions and surprise billing.
"Making sure that people know what they're going to be spending when they go to the doctor, right?" Peters said. "That kind of transparency is really important,"Â
"Regardless of what the federal government does with pre-existing conditions, in Nevada you're going to remain covered through health insurance options," Benitez-Thompson said. "Same thing with, for example, contraceptives for women."
The health care debate continues throughout the country. Some want to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, adopt a Medicare For All Plan, or use federal block grants that each state can use as it sees fit.
"Having access to a product that I know will cover the things that my family needs, consistently over a long period of time is what's important to me," Peters said. "I see that as being Medicare For All."
"I think that the system that we have in place now needs to be strengthened," Kieckhefer said. "I think Medicare For All is really cost-prohibitive, frankly, and kicking people off insurance that they like is not an option that I support."
"I think the best route is what we're looking at right now with the exchange in Nevada," Benitez-Thompson said. "We're driving down the cost in terms of how it affects families in the pocketbook to afford health care."
Open enrollment lasts until December 15.
