Las Vegas NowCOBRA Coverage Expires for Las Vegas Families

COBRA Coverage Expires for Las Vegas Families

LAS VEGAS -- In Nevada, one out of every five children, or more than 135,000, currently have no health insurance. That's enough kids to fill more than 2,000 school buses. Now that the federal COBRA subsidy program just expired, that number is rising everyday.

"I'm a mom and these are my kids and I think the one thing all parents fear most is not being able to take care of them the way they need to be taken care of," said Hope Vivas.

With six little ones to raise, including a young niece and nephew with chronic medical needs, Vivas' family already spends more than $500 a month on prescriptions and medical co-pays. After her husband was laid off, Hope says the COBRA subsidy program provided a critical lifeline for her family. "It allowed us to continue to have insurance," she said.

But that program just expired, which means the Vivas family's COBRA premium of will now triple. "It's going up to more than $1,600 a month," she said.

With a total monthly income of about $2,000, private health coverage is no longer an affordable option for the Vivas, who say that's a frightening dilemma. "You have to feed your children, but their medical issues also need to be taken care of," she said.

Nancy Whitman, the executive director of Nevada Covering Kids and Families, says that's where public health programs can help. "They probably meet the income guidelines for their children to qualify to have health care coverage," she said.

Whitman's private organization helps families like the Vivas apply for public health care programs, like Nevada Checkup for uninsured children. "The highest their premiums would ever be is $80 every three months and then all health care visits are free, whether it's to the doctor, dentist, or even the emergency room," she said.

But Whitman urges families to apply now, not later, because the application process takes up to 45-days for both Medicaid and Nevada Checkup.

While Nevada Checkup doesn't cover adults, Nevada Health Centers provide a wide range of health care services on a sliding fee scale.