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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) _ Insurers that won't cover injuries suffered by Nevadans under the influence of drugs or alcohol force hospitals to not screen patients for intoxication so they're covered by their policies, a state Senate panel was told Friday.

That would change under AB63, an Assembly-approved plan to prohibit insurance companies from denying such claims and would enable emergency room doctors to recommend treatment for those with substance abuse problems, Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee her bill would still allow insurers to deny claims from those injured while committing or attempting to commit a felony.

"A person who slips and falls at home who breaks their wrist could be denied if there's any trace of alcohol in their blood," Leslie said, adding that up to 80 percent of those who show up at Las Vegas trauma centers are under the influence when seen.

Leslie also said insurers don't deny smokers health care if they develop lung cancer, and her bill deals with an issue that's basically the same. She added the measure shouldn't cause insurance rates to rise. The current system puts doctors in a Catch 22 situation, the bill's advocates said, because they want to provide the best care possible but also don't want patients' insurance claims denied.

By not changing the law and encouraging doctors to screen for alcohol and substance abuse, "we are missing a great opportunity to refer people to substance abuse services," said Mike Moran, chairman of the board of Reno-based Project CARE, which provides life-skills training to those struggling with substance abuse.

But Janice Pine, a lobbyist for Saint Mary's Health Plans, said the bill is a new mandate.

"We believe that responsibility for wrongdoing needs to be placed on the wrongdoer," Pine said. Christina Dugan, a lobbyist for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, also called the bill a mandate and said the change could increase insurance costs and price out of the market small businesses that provide employee health insurance.

Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, countered that the bill could actually save costs in the future by getting those who need help for substance abuse into treatment.

"I don't understand where this could be considered a mandate. I don't see it in the mandate realm," she said, adding, "(Now) we're actually incentivizing trauma doctors to not fill out the forms the way they should."

Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, said there are ways around the lack of screening for those who may have a bigger problem. He said details of "brief interventions" by social workers, unlike a record of a blood-alcohol level, can't be accessed by insurers.

"While it's not the perfect solution, there's ways" around it," he said.