Details of Guinn's health care plan

The plan, which would be funded with half of each year's tobacco payment from cigarette manufacturers, is aimed primarily at Nevada's senior adult population. Guinn already has said he wants to spend half the settlement money on a scholarship program for Nevada students.

His health care program would:

-Allocate $10 million a year to pay for up to 90 percent of costs -- up to a maximum of $1,200 -- for a long-term care insurance policy for low-income senior adults.

-Allocate $6 million a year to provide financial assistance for low-income seniors to purchase pharmaceuticals.

-Provide protection for assets held by senior adults. This element of the proposal, which has no immediate price tag, would allow the elderly to become eligible for Medicaid assistance without spending all their assets, as is now required.

"Thousands of senior citizens will have peace of mind," Guinn said. "That's what this heath care plan will do."

Two other elements of Guinn's proposal would allocate $5 million in the first year of the settlement agreement to the construction of a health sciences center in Las Vegas to help address the special medical needs of rural Nevada.

An additional $1 million in the first year would be spent on upgrading rural emergency medical systems.

Finally, Guinn would spend $6 million to $7 million a year on tobacco prevention programs.

John Scott, a Reno physician and president of the Nevada Medical Association, said he has reviewed both Guinn's and the Democratic health care proposals and said he prefers the Guinn plan because it is more specific.

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