Latest news with #SenateBill316
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
15 quiet casualties of the 2025 legislative session
(Photo: April Corbin Girnus/Nevada Current) The pharmaceutical middlemen who play a role in inflating consumer drug prices escaped additional regulations by state lawmakers, after the Nevada State Legislature failed to pass a bill designed to curb how much profit they can make. Democratic state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen's Senate Bill 316 would have established 'guardrails' for pharmaceutical benefit managers, such as requiring PBMs to pass along to consumers rebate savings they receive from the drug companies. Nguyen led the legislative effort but a bipartisan group of eight other lawmakers signed on, including Republican state Sen. Jeff Stone, a pharmacist, and Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, a medical doctor. The Senate and Assembly passed different versions of SB216, both with broad bipartisan support. Only Democratic state Sens. Dina Neal and Fabian Donate opposed. However, those votes came in the waning days of the legislative session, and the Senate did not get around to voting on whether to accept the Assembly's amendments. Here are 14 other bills the Nevada Current has covered that fell short (or really far) from becoming law during the 2025 Legislative Session. Pet store ban. Assembly Bill 487 originally sought to ban retail pet sales statewide, following the lead of several municipalities that banned them within their borders. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Natha Anderson, passed the Assembly with bipartisan support. It appeared stalled in the Senate but, right before a key deadline, was heard by a Senate committee and amended into a study bill. When it returned to the Assembly for concurrence, Anderson moved for the chamber to reject the amendment. A trio of lawmakers from both chambers were chosen for what's known as a 'conference committee' to try and reconcile the differences between the chambers. But it appears no action was taken. That means retail pet sales remain legal in municipalities without bans. Education management organizations. Senate Bill 318 (State Sen. Skip Daly, D) would have banned charter schools from contracting with for-profit education management organizations. The bill passed the Senate on party lines, with all Republicans opposing. It was referred to the Assembly Education Committee but was never given a hearing. That committee is chaired by Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett, who is also the executive director of a Las Vegas charter school contracted with Academica, the largest EMO in the state. Third-party ticket vendors. Senate Bill 431 originally attempted to remove an exemption Nevada-based sports teams have from the state's 8% live entertainment tax on tickets. That is an effort Democratic state Sen. Dina Neal has pushed in prior sessions. This year, the bill was amended into a bill to apply LET to tickets resold by third-party vendors like StubHub. Some of the funding would have supported public transit. The amended bill passed the Assembly with bipartisan support but was never given a floor vote in the Senate. Farm worker protections. Senate Bill 172 (State Sen. Edgar Flores, D) sought to bolster protections for farm workers and amend overtime pay laws to include agriculture workers. The bill passed the Senate on party lines, with all Republicans opposing, but got stuck in the Assembly. Free phone calls for prisoners. Senate Bill 323 (State Sen. Melanie Scheible, D) would have created a pilot program to provide free phone calls at Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center. The bill passed the Senate with 20-0, with one senator excused from the vote, but died on the Assembly side. Traffic cams in construction zones. Assembly Bill 402 (Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett, D) would have authorized traffic monitoring cameras in construction work zones when workers are present. The bill passed the Assembly with some bipartisan support, but then got stuck in the Senate Finance Committee. It was one of two 'red light camera' bills introduced into the session this year. The other missed a legislative deadline earlier in the session. Prison food study. Assembly Bill 246 (Assemblymember Venicia Considine, D) proposed a study on food quality, waste and nutrition within Nevada Department of Corrections prisons. The bill was considered and passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, but died in the chamber's Ways & Means Committee. Graduate assistant unions. Assembly Bill 191 (Assemblymember Natha Anderson, D) would have given graduate assistants the right to collectively bargain for better pay and conditions. The bill got stuck in the Assembly Ways & Means Committee. Commerce tax. Assembly Bill 276 (Assemblymember P.K. O'Neill, R) would have adjusted the commerce tax threshold to inflation. The bill got stuck in the Assembly Ways & Means Committee. Weight-loss drugs. Senate Bill 244 (State Sen. Roberta Lange, D) would have expanded the types of obesity treatments covered by Nevada Medicaid, including approving weight-loss drugs like Ozempic for wider use. The bill got stuck in the Senate Finance Committee. 'Second Look' Assembly Bill 91 (Assemblymember Erica Roth, D) is known as 'second look' legislation and would have created an avenue for those incarcerated to have sentences reviewed by the State Board of Parole Commissioners after they've served extended periods of time. The bill passed the Assembly on party lines, then died in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lombardo's health care bill Senate Bill 495, known as the Nevada Health Care Access Act, was Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo's health care bill. It passed the Senate on party lines, with Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus urging her caucus to oppose the bill over amendments added by Democrats related to freestanding emergency rooms. The Assembly did not vote on the bill. SNAP app. Assembly Bill 474 would have required DWSS to create a 'Smart Surplus Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.' The bill was criticized by local food banks, but passed the Assembly 40-1. Only Democratic Assemblymember Venicia Considine opposed. It was heard by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee but never voted out. Artificial intelligence. Senate Bill 199 (State Sen. Dina Neal, D) would establish guardrails around artificial intelligence. The bill passed out of a Senate committee in early April but saw no activity after that.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nevadans deserve affordable prescriptions, not PBM exploitation
Three pharmacy benefit managers — CVS Health, Optum Rx, and Express Scripts – control 80% of the prescription drug market. Each of them are owned by giant health insurance companies. (Photo: Lynne Terry/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The Nevada legislative session will end in just a few days — and time is running out to pass legislation that'd save Nevadans millions of dollars on their pharmacy bills. Senate Bill 316 would curb the power of pharmacy benefit managers, the secretive middlemen hired by insurers to negotiate prices with drugmakers and process prescription claims. Because PBMs dictate which drugs an insurer covers — and, thus, which medications patients can access — they wield immense power over our health care. And they use that power to line their own pockets at the expense of Nevada patients and small businesses. Here's how it works. Drugmakers offer insurers and their pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) discounts and rebates on medications — in exchange for agreeing to cover a medicine and steer patients toward it. PBMs profit by keeping a share of those discounts and rebates, and also by charging administrative fees based on a percentage of the drug's nominal 'list' price. Since expensive drugs lead to larger discounts, fees, and profits, PBMs have a perverse incentive to steer patients toward higher-priced drugs. The result? PBMs secretly extract billions of dollars from drugmakers annually, while patients pay higher out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications and are denied coverage for cheaper alternatives. This dynamic is devastating for Nevadans, over 80% of whom report worrying about affording future healthcare costs. PBMs' manipulation of drug coverage often strips doctors and patients of the ability to decide which medication is best for an individual's healthcare needs. And PBMs harm patients in other ways as well — most notably by putting trusted, local community pharmacies out of business and forcing Nevadans to travel much further to pick up prescriptions. PBMs often reimburse these independent pharmacies much less than their affiliated pharmacies. A Federal Trade Commission report examined reimbursement for two drugs and found that PBMs paid their affiliated pharmacies 20 to 40 times more than the National Average Drug Acquisition Cost. In some cases, independent pharmacies actually lose money every time a patient fills a prescription due to PBM clawbacks and fees. This has put immense financial strain on our state's independent pharmacies, which filled 5 million prescriptions in 2023. Indeed, over the last decade, about one in ten rural independent pharmacies across the nation have closed. That limits patient choice and makes it harder for Nevadans to fill urgently needed prescriptions. PBMs' exploitative practices also hurt small businesses in Nevada, which are already operating on thin margins. As the costs of prescriptions and employee health plans rise, small companies are forced to cut back on expansion plans, hiring, and employee benefits. SB 316 would put an end to this abuse and enact reforms that Nevadans overwhelmingly support. For starters, the bill would tie a PBM's compensation to the value of the service it provides, instead of the list price of medications. That would eliminate PBMs' incentive to favor more expensive drugs over lower-cost ones. In a recent poll, 85% of state residents supported such a policy. The legislation would also create more transparency and accountability over PBM practices. Today, the middlemen often operate in a black box, with patients and other health plans unaware of the consolidation and conflicts of interest that dictate PBM practices. SB 316 would establish a duty of care, requiring PBMs to put patients' interests ahead of their own. Roughly nine in ten Nevadans are in favor of such a provision, according to the new poll. The bill would further prohibit PBMs from reimbursing any pharmacy less than it reimburses an affiliated pharmacy. That would stop us from losing yet more independent pharmacies that provide critical services to patients across the state. SB 316 would ensure much-needed oversight of PBMs and restore fairness to the marketplace in the state. More than 80% of Nevadans are very or extremely concerned that no such oversight currently exists. Legislators must not let the session expire without easing those concerns — or preventing PBMs from exploiting Nevada businesses and patients for their own financial gain.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC lawmakers consider bills to lower healthcare costs
RALEIGH, N.C. () – Lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle are pushing through measures to reform North Carolina's healthcare system. Senate Bill 316 aims to lower healthcare costs and increase transparency in billing. Key features of the measure include requiring hospitals to file reports quarterly, instead of annually, to the Department of Health and Human Services on cost data, outlawing facility fees and giving the State Auditor authority to examine billing transparency. State Senator Amy Galey (R-Alamance) said it's a step in curtailing 'unacceptably high healthcare costs.' 'Part Three is greater fairness in billing and collections practices; it requires an itemized list to any patient before referring an unpaid bill to a collection agency,' Galey said in a committee hearing last week. Here's why the the FAA wants you to lose the laser SB 316 also looks to establish a timeline for insurers to conduct prior authorizations, similar to House Bill 434. place North Carolina among the Top 10 Worst States for Health Care in 2025. Researchers said they factored in quality, cost and accessibility through 44 metrics. 'Basically, patients are not really getting the most bang for their buck,' said WalletHub writer Chip Lupo. 'We're talking about quality: quality of public hospital systems, number of hospital beds per capita, number of physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians, even dentists. Even so far down is available at urgent care centers, convenient care clinics, rural health clinics. Now that's a key point here in North Carolina.' Lupo said he recognized a 'regional pattern' tied to socioeconomic factors as several Southern states ranked near the bottom of the list. 'You go east of I-95 where I'm from. Still a lot a lot of farming, a lot of low income. So while and you would think that with Duke University and North Carolina, all these great medical centers, the health care outcome would be a little bit more favorable, North Carolina. But it's simply not the case.' According to Lupo, despite high costs and low access in some areas, patient outcomes in North Carolina are trending in a positive direction. Forbes for healthcare, citing the highest average premium for residents with 'plus-one' health insurance. The study found that Hawaii had the most affordable options. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
