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University Medical Center |
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Please do not cut anymore funding to UMC. They provide a vital service in our state that we count on.
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$1.00 per Week to Pay for Services |
Why in the United States of America in 2009 can we not ensure that our citizens are receiving health care that is imperative to live? In order to pay for the uninsured or underinsured citizens with life threatening and chronic diseases, why don’t you add a $1.00 per week, per paycheck tax to fund services such as cancer, dialysis, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) care? Don’t take away services that save lives. The majority of the population in Nevada who work are blessed and are not dealing with these illnesses; we should be showing our gratitude by helping those who are not.
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Vision Benefits to Children |
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It is a shame that vision services have been cut from our public health programs for children. How do we expect parents who are unemployed to afford to pay for vision screening and glasses which are considered not medically necessary? How can children see the blackboard or even read without glasses? The benefit does not cost that much and has such a large impact on children in school.
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Nevada Early Intervention Services |
I would like to share my concern regarding the loss of funding through Nevada Early Intervention Services for pediatric genetics clinics. Currently, there are 20 genetic clinics funded for Las Vegas, and another 8 clinics for Reno. Additionally, there are 10 fetal alcohol clinics for the State that is also losing funding. To make this situation worse, we have only one Medical Geneticist in the State of Nevada. The doctor relies on this funding, as is not in private practice. Further, the Lili Claire Foundation, a privately funded organization is not able to continue their genetics clinics, due to lack of funds. Please reconsider taking away all of these genetics services for children in the State of Nevada.
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A proactive, organized approach to caring for the homeless population is needed especially if this population increases because of home foreclosures and rising unemployment. Temporary shelters could be set up in college and university buildings or facilities such as gyms and athletic stadiums when those facilities are not being used.
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School-based Health Clinics |
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School-based health clinics that provide basic health care to students, parents, and other residents of neighborhood areas could be a relatively inexpensive alternative to other health programs because they can be located in existing school buildings.
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I wonder how the legislative authority within the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy can even imagine cutting the wages of the PCA’s for the disabled. The disabled have the right to the time and expertise of these workers. The PCA’s have the right and responsibility to give the best care possible.
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Abusive Parents Financial Responsibility |
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Since hard-working teachers and state employees are on the list for 6 percent pay cuts, please add parents, who have had their parental rights terminated for abusing their child, to continue paying child support until the child is adopted to save on Welfare spending.
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I suggest that state law establish that mandatory periodic and random drug testing be required for any person who receives welfare benefits, medical benefits, dependent children benefits, unemployment benefits, or any other form of public assistance from the state or any city or county in Nevada. These tests must be designed to prevent cheating, be verifiable, and failure of any such test would result in mandatory immediate elimination of the benefit. In addition, no benefit of any kind should be provided to any person who is not a legal citizen of the United States and the State of Nevada. I’m getting tired of paying to subsidize and take care of illegal intruders, losers, and criminals.
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Medicaid should not be FREE. Patients should have to contribute to their own healthcare. When something is given away for free, demand is limitless and value given to it is devalued. Co-pays for prescription drugs and doctor visits should be implemented. Make a more rigorous background check on any Medicaid recipient. There are too many cheaters, strippers, and tax cheats on the public take. Cut off every non citizen from ANY public assistance. Turn them away at the emergency rooms! No more incentives for single
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Benefits to Illegal Immigrants |
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One area I would like to see considered by our representatives not only here in Nevada but nationwide, would be to cut the benefits given to illegal aliens. I don’t mean to sound mean to these people but we simply can’t afford to give free health and welfare benefits to people who don’t contribute to the tax base. Many come here to this country just for this reason. We, who are fortunate enough to be able to work, have to fight tooth and nail to make ends meet turn around and see our tax dollars given to people who don’t belong here and to freeloaders who refuse to work.
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Do Not Cut Welfare and Human Services |
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Please do not cut welfare or human services and close offices. This will affect children, single mothers, and seniors. Also, grants will be discontinued or unable to be requested. Rural Nevada needs these human services.
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The State of Nevada and the federal government are owed approximately $700 million dollars on approximately 130,000 child support cases. This receivable qualifies as a troubled asset receivable under the TARP program. The Secretary of Treasury can buy the $700 million troubled receivable from the State of Nevada and the state would have at least $350 million available for immediate use and $350 million for federal set off programs. The TARP would be repaid by the issuance of federally insured bonds. The program has been reviewed by a number of other states but no state wants to be the first to implement the program.
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The welfare office is only 50 percent staffed and they have a hiring freeze. The influx of people that have been laid off and are now applying for benefits is astronomical. The case managers are extremely overworked as case loads have doubled and may triple before the end of the year.
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Save $ and protect children and taxpayers |
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"Amend Nevada State law to require child support after a parental termination until an adoption decree has been entered by a court. This will allow the State to continue to recover money being spent on welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, WIC, and Tanif, and provide a higher quality of life for abused children. Several other states have laws such as this to protect children and tax-payers."
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"Rural Clinics has notified all 10 psychologists that are on staff that they are recommending to the Governor that all 10 positions be eliminated. I see some problems with this proposal: 1. Medicaid and some other insurance companies require psychologists in order to bill. I believe some accrediting bodies also requires psychologists. Rural Clinic's plan to keep only one psychologist to travel the entire state is a "token" which I don't believe will be looked kindly upon by Medicaid and the other insurance companies. 2. Psychologists have different competencies than social workers, even though there is some overlap. There is a quality difference between someone with 35 credit hours of graduate level coursework vs someone with 100 graduate level coursework. I have had numerous clients express that they have been unhappy with the services they've received from some social workers/counselors (e.g. one who fell asleep during sessions, judgmentalness, lack of competence, lack of compassion, etc). Some experienced social workers are as competent as some psychologists, but on-average there is a qualitative difference. 3. There has always been a competitiveness between psychologists and social workers nationally. Psychologists have sacrificed a lot in order to pursue the doctorate degree, which social workers have not had to do. "An hour of counseling is an hour of counseling" is NOT true, when there is a difference in competence based upon a difference in training and education. 4. The management staff of Rural Clinics are social workers, and have expressed over the past few years their jealousy of the salaries paid to psychologists (esp. after the last legislature's increase in our salaries). Jealousy and resentment are not good grounds upon which to base these kinds of budget discussions. 5. If Nevada was to ask state employees to take a voluntary, temporary salary reduction (say 15-25%), I'm sure that many would agree, esp. if the alternative is to lose their jobs. I could not support, however, a request that the lowest paid state workers also be asked to take that kind of salary reduction (perhaps only people making over $35,000 a year should be asked to take a voluntary reduction). Those state employees who are highly paid, e.g. over $100,000 could easily be asked to take such a salary reduction. 6. With the recommended staff reductions to Rural Clinics, I sincerely doubt that adequate mental health services can be given to state residents. Since Nevada often ranks the highest of any state on suicide, (and is usually in the top 2 states) I believe that mental health should have a high priority. We have a number of volatile, potentially violent and/or suicidal clients around the state. I would prefer that you NOT share this letter with Rural Clinics staff. You are welcome to share the ideas contained herein, as long as my name is not attached to them."
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Possible closure of Hawthorne Welfare Dept |
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"I am strongly opposed to the possible closure of the Welfare Building in Hawthorne, NV as was recently announced in the Hawthorne paper, the Mineral County Independent. This is a property that the state of Nevada leases from my mother and has done so for the last 18 years. We have accommodated the state of Nevada to the best of our ability and in every way possible in order to make sure the Mineral County area has access to the benefits of this incredibly important program, which is so desperately needed in rural areas such as Hawthorne. I feel that the state of Nevada should work with my mother to reach a win-win situation where the existing facility can remain open and my mother can be reassured that the building will continue to be leased by the state of Nevada for a reasonable rate and for an ongoing period of time. This rate could be a reduced lease amount for an agreed-upon time frame in order to bridge and transcend the tight money situation brought on by our current nation-wide recession. We all know things will get better, but my family is willing to lose some revenue if the state of Nevada is willing to sit down at the drawing board and work out a plan that will benefit everyone concerned. We recently put approximately $50,000 in renovations into this building that were requested by the state of Nevada in order to comply with a renewed lease. Please work with us on this! It would be an incredible loss to Hawthorne as well as my mother to have this large building sitting unoccupied and at risk when the Hawthorne Welfare Department is so necessary and needed there."
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"I have long believed that people collecting welfare need to get jobs and get off the welfare rolls. Unfortunately a large percentage of recipients have children and once they go to work they have to pay for day care, which is very costly. Consequently, they end up staying on welfare because they can't make enough money to support their household as well as pay day care. So here is my idea. Take the money you spend on welfare, put some of the recipients to work manning a state run day care center that charges based on income. Of course not everyone will be put to work but those that aren't will at least be able to get jobs and not have to worry about the cost of day care. I am sure there are buildings owned by the State that are not being used and these could be turned into day care centers throughout the State. This would get people off the welfare rolls, put people to work and help others as well and will reduce what is being paid out on welfare dramatically."
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