For over fifty years, Medicaid has provided health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income Nebraskans, helping children in Nebraska succeed in school and keeping the state’s communities healthy.
Medicaid not only supports the health and well-being of Nebraskans, it also supports Nebraska’s workforce, health systems, and economy.
When people have access to health care through Medicaid, they are more financially secure and economically productive; but without coverage, untreated conditions can turn into severe health issues, causing social and economic costs to soar.
Despite its importance, Nebraskans still face administrative barriers when accessing these crucial benefits. In our Core Issues paper, Streamlining the Medicaid Program: A win-win for Nebraska, we provide an overview of policies that can strengthen Nebraska’s Medicaid program by making it more accessible to eligible Nebraskans while leveraging key administrative efficiencies to cut costs and reduce the red tape that is often a barrier for the most vulnerable to access health care coverage.
How can Medicaid work better for Nebraska?
Through a combination of state-level administrative policy changes and Medicaid State Plan Amendments (SPAs), Nebraska can take several simple steps now to improve its Medicaid program, which will have positive impacts throughout the pandemic and beyond.
An overview of the suggested policy changes is below:
- REDUCE PAPERWORK through increased cross-program data sharing, Marketplace eligibility determinations, and self-attestations.
- EXPAND PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY by permanently expanding the Medicaid populations eligible for presumptive eligibility determinations and permitting additional entities to make such determinations.
- IMPROVE ONLINE APPLICATIONS by making account creation optional and creating application assister online portals.
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Medicaid is a vital program for Nebraskans.
By streamlining administrative processes within the Medicaid program, Nebraska can ensure that eligible individuals are able to access health care while also increasing administrative efficiency. Reducing paperwork, expanding presumptive eligibility, and improving online applications are simple ways that Nebraska can achieve these goals.
Spread the word:
After nearly two years since Nebraskans voted for Medicaid expansion to provide health care coverage to thousands of our family members, friends, and neighbors, it is now available!
As of November 1, 2020, over 16,000 people were enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. Still, at least 73,000 more Nebraskans are estimated to be eligible for Medicaid expansion.
Someone you know may be eligible for Medicaid expansion. Sign up with the help of a local assister today:
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