In January of 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services released an important report which lists the employers with the largest groups of employees on Medicaid in Nevada. Topping the 2019 list with 3,056 employees on Medicaid, costing the state of Nevada over 19 million dollars last year alone, is Walmart. Walmart is one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, yet it still refuses to pay its employees a living wage. Other corporations on the list include Amazon, Smiths Food, Tesla, McDonald’s, Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Maverick, Aerotek and almost every casino in Nevada. These are all wealthy corporations stricken with greed that already pay next to nothing in taxes. This is the definition of corporate welfare and it’s costing Nevada hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
The report contains an alarming number of Nevada school districts as well as the Nevada System of Higher Education. Clark County School district is number two on the list and unsurprisingly Nevada consistently ranks last in education nationwide. Nevada’s teachers deserve to be paid a living wage, they are responsible for educating the great minds of tomorrow. The State of Nevada was the fifth largest group of employees on Medicaid, which means we potentially have Medicaid employees who are on Medicaid themselves. This is morally unacceptable and financially irresponsible.
The State of Nevada is currently paying an employee’s wage while also paying for that same employee to be on Medicaid. If Nevada paid their teachers and employees higher wages Nevada could save money. A bigger Medicaid caseload means more overhead, more office space, and more paperwork, all costing Nevada more money on top of the cost of the Medicaid recipient benefits.