[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6664386,"mediaKeyId","2381930-584606843a3a4ed14a41977f2f43386d","parentId",2381930,"title","Assembly hears AB234 to require Medicaid coverage for cancer screenings including at-home colorectal tests","audioSeconds",1509,"startMs",3961000,"endMs",5470000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2381930-584606843a3a4ed14a41977f2f43386d&start=3961&end=5470","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2381930-584606843a3a4ed14a41977f2f43386d/thumbnail_3961000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6664386/Nevada/Assembly-hears-AB234-to-require-Medicaid-coverage-for-cancer-screenings-including-at-home-colorectal-tests","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6664386-2219d9e235ee482fa9ea17bf246b0aa2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775400485&Signature=C3rLS8OfSGTbPUCZFmkv~w~B1EXy3ynWh6FKkYGMYl7EWYy-xYaXvZQLDYEILHiFWtAgz02YgE5Va6KyedUqT4sMYwLZSBJmx8~oQLXzHAaErGjKb4gPPV2RkPfiYU1MwB82K5LEspEThX9s--Zh6yQeLlaBPn6R7h1OdqgH7fUwPupkmEd5txam9F3VHWpWFoU0Da~m-BiCANxsj75QymYSee0KbW1DYK1sXXkX7UEosrWIzmxOYAg0skKcVKV6ixwU14LUODknUyB5e4TJDLy3MUJKy36-Xpg~XgzhLVmQ5ow2MNp1D71ixdf0q~WrDuqumvC3ASqbxm0ldpeXZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nevada State Legislature","date","2025-02-24T22:50:14.547Z","article","The Assembly Health & Human Services Committee held a hearing on Assembly Bill 234, legislation that would amend Nevada statute to explicitly require Medicaid coverage of screening for certain cancers and to protect access to all evidence-based colorectal screening methods, including FDA-approved at-home stool tests.

Sponsor Assemblymember Natha Anderson (Assembly District 30) said the bill \"is to protect access to cancer screens for Nevada Medicaid beneficiaries and increase access to all evidence-based colorectal cancer screening options to improve screen rates, decrease late stage cancer detection, and ultimately save lives.\" She asked the committee to align Nevada Revised Statutes with current Medicaid practice and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Carrie Harrington, executive director of the Nevada Cancer Coalition, told lawmakers that incorporating at-home options such as fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) and multi-target stool DNA tests (for example, Cologuard) is important for rural and working families who face limited local colonoscopy capacity or difficulty taking time off work. \"FDA-approved evidence based at home screening options for colorectal cancer screening has really been an incredible advancement in increasing access to care,\" Harrington said.

The bill text discussed during the hearing would amend the referenced chapter of state law to add explicit coverage for lung and prostate screening and for \"all available colorectal cancer evidence-based methods of screening\" for Medicaid beneficiaries. Section 2 of the bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to obtain any necessary federal waiver or state-plan amendment to secure federal funding to fully provide that coverage.

During testimony, several organizations and clinicians offered support. James Cohen, a recently retired medical oncologist and member of the Nevada Cancer Coalition board, told the committee that early detection substantially reduces treatment costs and morbidity; he cited a personal melanoma treatment example and estimated modern immunotherapy costs as evidence that earlier diagnosis can limit expensive advanced-care treatment.

Representing provider and advocacy groups, witnesses offering support included the Nevada State Medical Association (on the public line), Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican, Professional Firefighters Nevada, Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Nevada Oncology Society and the Nevada Public Health Association. Several testified that increased access to screening promotes health equity for rural, low-income and medically underserved populations.

Members asked technical and policy questions: several sought clarification about which screening modalities the bill would require insurers to cover and whether coverage would be tied to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations. Carrie Harrington and the sponsor said screening choices are typically determined by federal guidance (USPSTF) and by insurer and program practice; Anderson said the bill aims chiefly to bring statute into alignment with current Medicaid coverage and to protect access, and staff indicated the substance of specific test choices may be clarified in regulation or program guidance.

Committee members also asked about fiscal impact. The sponsor said there was no fiscal note available at the hearing but that department discussions on the topic had been underway since at least August of the prior year. The bill's language directs the Department to seek federal matching funds as needed.

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing. The sponsor said she would follow up with requested data, including estimates about lives saved by early detection and potential fiscal impacts. The committee closed the hearing and moved on to other agenda items.

Ending: AB234 drew broad support from clinical and advocacy groups at the hearing; the Department of Health and Human Services will be involved if the bill proceeds, including applying for necessary federal approvals and producing fiscal estimates if requested by the committee.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","2/24/2025 - Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services","oneSentenceSummary","Assembly Health & Human Services heard AB234, a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Natha Anderson to clarify that Nevada Medicaid must cover screening for lung and prostate cancers and all evidence-based colorectal screening methods, including at-home stool-DNA tests.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NV, Nevada","taxId",78440,"location","Nevada","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6664391,"Nevada public health leaders ask Legislature for flexible funding, regionalization and workforce support",1678,1085000,2763000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2381930-584606843a3a4ed14a41977f2f43386d&start=1085&end=2763","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2381930-584606843a3a4ed14a41977f2f43386d/thumbnail_1085000.jpg","/articles/6664391/Nevada/Nevada-public-health-leaders-ask-Legislature-for-flexible-funding-regionalization-and-workforce-support","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6664391-e20847fc281882cf0bc963996b47a630/orig.mp4?Expires=1775400485&Signature=dKsjVcSFxAMxlU4dhJyiNnw3l-zDNkOTY6C5UNg~sLRXaZZJYdSqrC52Rn-c6Rsf7CNKGmV5gUwnJldEAW~mY5v5BKHCJO0dI3feKQ19N~t0xB1-5MQyHoLIQ6BG6avFTzN11PdOLfIKiPLafZrTJeYcltvFREGDFw5-tm8yVmcU-3IrCOq~wjdDxtMHcUrU4Ch5Z2UL7aJlwQSiqG29VYiq1yhN1c105oHBgVrIrYjw~~4K7jE4AX07F78e1MdQglz1OeK8wIvE76ADv9Mg1dqaObjLnrvAMCT9JXYa-ej6PdqkIWWU8xNJvNTZnigNf0ztngL3WpHHdiHGGIiXJA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Nevada public health officials briefed the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee on the structure, recent developments and funding needs of the state's public health system, urging continued noncategorical general-fund support and local regionalization to sustain services in rural and frontier counties.

The briefing explained why public health work is largely conducted outside of statute, how recent regionalization efforts have unfolded and why officials say flexible funding is essential to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, vector threats and other emerging needs.

Julia Peak, deputy administrator for community health services with the Division of Public and Behavioral Health, told the committee that \"very little is codified for public health in Nevada law,\" and described the state's largely decentralized model in which local health districts deliver most services while the state plays a convening and safety-net role in counties without a local district.

Peak and other presenters described multiple priorities: sustaining the noncategorical funds approved last session, continuing data modernization started during the COVID-19 response, expanding regionalization so frontier counties can provide services locally, and addressing a persistent workforce shortage. They said Nevada and Texas are the only two states with the largely decentralized structure described in the presentation.

Officials highlighted Central Nevada Health District as a recent example of regionalization. Central Nevada formed in December 2022 as a partnership among Churchill, Mineral, Pershing, Eureka counties and the city of Fallon. Speakers said the district's experience produced a toolkit to help other counties that wish to regionalize public health services.

Presenters told lawmakers that much public health work is federally funded and often categorical, which restricts how dollars can be used. \"We are largely dependent on federal funding,\" Peak said, noting that some state and local programs would not operate if federal grants ended. Committee members were told larger urban districts are roughly half federally funded; some smaller jurisdictions rely on federal funds for as much as 75 percent of operations.

Officials also described specific program-level work and gaps: Southern Nevada Health District's naloxone distribution and wastewater surveillance, shortages of epidemiologists and environmental health specialists statewide, limited vector-control capacity in mosquito season, and challenges sustaining newly created positions such as tribal liaisons and diversity and equity coordinators once temporary grants expire.

Workforce development efforts spotlighted the UNLV and UNR schools of public health and use of ARPA funds for training and career ladders. Speakers said roughly 20'to'3 percent of the public health workforce are considering leaving their jobs and that the sector needs many more staff to meet national targets.

Committee members asked about multi-state collaboration, lessons learned from COVID-19 and whether the state has returned to pre-pandemic vaccination work. Peak said Nevada participates in interstate communications for confidential case reporting and that COVID-era operational relationships (for specimen transport, use of the National Guard and interagency coordination) improved readiness, though staffing and sustainable funding remain constraints.

The briefing concluded with an invitation to committee members to use the division's public dashboards for district-level immunization and disease data and an offer to provide additional materials on the division's after-action reviews and local needs assessments.

The presentation moved into questions from committee members and was followed on the agenda by a separate bill hearing on Medicaid cancer screening coverage.

Ending: The Division of Public and Behavioral Health said it would provide follow-up materials and data at the committee's request and emphasized that sustaining flexible state funding would allow the system to pivot to emerging public health priorities.","State and local public health officials told the Assembly Health & Human Services Committee that Nevada’s decentralized public health system needs sustained, noncategorical funding, workforce expansion and data modernization to respond to outbreaks and serve rural counties.","actionData","errors"]

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Assembly hears AB234 to require Medicaid coverage for cancer screenings including at-home colorectal tests

Nevada public health leaders ask Legislature for flexible funding, regionalization and workforce support