Nevada bill would require hospitals to screen NICU patients for Medicaid presumptive eligibility and create NICU parents' bill of rights

Senate Bill 138 would require all Nevada hospitals providing birthing services to screen pregnant patients and qualifying newborns for presumptive Medicaid eligibility and would establish a NICU parents’ bill of rights, sponsors told the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee.

Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure “strengthens health care access for pregnant individuals and newborns” by requiring hospitals licensed to provide birthing services to enroll as providers of presumptive eligibility services and ensure that qualified staff screen pregnant patients in accordance with federal law. If a patient or newborn is determined presumptively eligible, hospitals must give written notification outlining benefits, coverage period and how to apply for full Medicaid benefits; if ineligible, patients must receive written guidance on denial and next steps.

The bill includes a provision that hospital staff must notify parents if a newborn who is premature, low birth weight or otherwise meets SSI criteria may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and thus for Medicaid presumptive eligibility. The legislation also establishes a NICU parents’ bill of rights that requires parents receive timely medical updates, opportunities to be involved in decision-making, access to skin-to-skin contact when appropriate, breastfeeding support and mental-health resources.

Jennifer Atlas and Beau Tucker, parents who testified, described personal experiences in the NICU. Atlas recounted her son Beau’s emergency cesarean, extended NICU stay and the “staggering” hospital bill that followed; she said she was handed a Medicaid application while exhausted and initially set it aside because she believed they would not qualify. “I was wrong,” she said, and urged members the bill would prevent other families from facing ruinous out-of-pocket costs while their infants fight for life. Beau Tucker, who spent time in the NICU, told the committee: “Parents shouldn’t have to worry about money or paperwork when their newborn needs special NICU care.”

Hospitals and provider groups supported the measure. The Nevada Hospital Association, Renown Health, Dignity Health Saint Rose and Valley Health representatives said many hospitals already screen for presumptive eligibility and supported the bill’s aim; the Nevada State Medical Association and the Nevada Hospital Association offered support and said the bill would expand timely access to specialized care. The bill sponsor also offered a conceptual amendment to allow hospitals using third-party vendors to enroll as qualified providers so screenings continue if a vendor performs eligibility screening, and to allow verbal provision of SSI/Medicaid information when written materials in a patient’s primary language are unavailable if staff document the verbal notice.

Supporters argued the bill does not expand eligibility rules; it attempts to ensure eligible newborns are screened and enrolled promptly so coverage for care in the NICU is in place when medically necessary. No opposition testimony was recorded in the hearing transcript. The committee closed the bill hearing after testimony; the transcript shows bipartisan and community support and multiple hospitals pledged to continue working with the sponsor on implementation details.