Your Week 7 Legislative Update
Hello friends,
This past week at the legislature saw some great pieces of legislation voted on and moved onto different rounds of debate. I also had two committee hearings for LB’s 821 and 911 that went well overall and I will describe to you what each bill does.
I had the great privilege of meeting with members of the League of Women Voters of Nebraska. We discussed the mission of the LWV and the necessity of expanding democracy and ending dark money in politics.
On Wednesday morning, the legislature passed two significant bills. LB857 from Senator George Dungan establishes the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program. The bill’s goal is to reduce the incidences of low birth weight, pre-term birth, and adverse birth outcomes by having 6 or less sessions of nutrition counseling, psychosocial counseling, breastfeeding support, targeted case management and more. This bill will support mothers that are experiencing economic hardship and ensure that babies in Nebraska are going to be healthier from the jump.
The other bill that passed on Wednesday was LB1035 from Senator Jana Hughes. This bill establishes the Prescription Drug Donation Act. Individuals, drug manufacturers and healthcare facilities may donate prescription drugs to the Department of Health and Human Services which then distributes the donated drugs to licensed pharmacists that then hand the drugs out to patients that have a prescription for said drugs. This will help to lower costs for prescription drugs across Nebraska.
My priority bill for the session, LB829 passed the second round of debate on Wednesday morning to Final Reading which is the 3rd and final round of debate. LB829 closes a loophole used by insurance companies to charge patients for when a polyp or other abnormalities are removed during a colonoscopy. My hope with this bill is that more Nebraskans will look to get their colonoscopies and not be burdened financially. |
