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LB 13, which would change the Child Care Subsidy Program from one based on attendance to one based on enrollment, is scheduled for a hearing before the HHS Committee next Wednesday, January 22nd at 1:30pm in Room 1510 of the State Capitol. If you cannot testify but would like to submit an online comment, you can do so here.
What is Happening?
Since March 2020, federal law has generally required states to keep most people with Medicaid enrolled in coverage regardless of changes – like a change in income – due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal law recently changed, and now, enrollees who no longer qualify for Medicaid or who do not complete their renewal may be terminated from coverage.
An estimated 40,000-80,000 Nebraska Medicaid enrollees will no longer be eligible and will be terminated from coverage, and the first possible terminations started in April 2023. Many others may not be aware that renewals are restarting, and failure to complete renewal paperwork or requests for information may lead to termination of coverage. DHHS has identified at least 145,000 Nebraskans that may be at risk of losing their coverage – this highlights that many more Nebraskans may be at risk of losing their coverage, even if they are still eligible for Medicaid.
Renewals Have Restarted
In March 2023, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) started evaluating whether Medicaid enrollees are eligible to continue to receive Medicaid coverage. DHHS is generally required to complete a full renewal of a Medicaid enrollee’s case before terminating Medicaid coverage. During this process, DHHS will be sending notices to current Medicaid enrollees and may be requesting information or explaining changes in coverage.
What Should Medicaid Enrollees Do?
Update Contact Information with DHHS Now
Online at ACCESSNebraska.ne.gov
By Phone at (855) 632-7633
By Email at DHHS.ANDICenter@nebraska.gov
By Fax at (402) 742-2351
Check Mail/Email and Watch for Communications from DHHS
Complete Verification Requests and/or Medicaid Renewal Forms on time
Contact Nebraska Appleseed with any issues or for further assistance at neappleseed.org/gethelp.
Resources Available
Visit or share Nebraska Appleseed’s Preparing for Medicaid Renewals Website, which includes a Community Fact Sheet with tools to find local help.
Visit Nebraska DHHS’s Preparing to Renew Medicaid Coverage Website and subscribe for updates.
The current care gap that excludes families that include children with severe disabilities has led to Nebraska having the 5th highest cost of services in the nation. We end up paying for the most expensive services. This waiver will help us bring down the average cost of services from $63,000 per individual to a $12,000 cap. It may look like new money but really this is just changing where we would spend the money — from emergency services that cost us on average over $130,000 per individual per year to ensuring these children get the proper early and preventative services in their home instead of in an emergency room.
I believe these changes will decrease the number of children currently on the waiting list for home and community-based services. It will also provide support to family caregivers, allowing them to remain in the workforce. Remaining in the workforce means the family and the state can benefit from the family caregivers’ private health insurance as a first payer, thereby lessening the demand on Medicaid.
I introduced the bill last year. On general file, or first round of debate, the bill had good support. On select file, even though it was a committee priority bill and was already calculated into the budget, the bill was filibustered and failed to advance. This year, I gave the bill my personal priority to get it back on the agenda. After some negotiation and an amendment, LB 376 has advanced to final reading.
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