A strong workers’ compensation system is essential for all Nebraskans

Last week was full of long days, late nights, and delicious sips of coffee while fighting for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans.

Advocating for equitable funding and racial impact statements

We kicked off hearings last week testifying in front of the Appropriations Committee with recommendations on how we can use the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to best support Nebraskans and our communities feeling the impacts of the pandemic.

The following day we testified in support of LB 814, introduced by Senator Terrell McKinney. This bill would add racial impact statements to legislation related to the criminal and juvenile justice system. View our testimony here.

Our communities are stronger when all Nebraskans have access to quality, affordable health care

Our Health Care Access Team testified in support of LB 862, LB 929, and LB 952 last week. LB 952, introduced by Senator John Cavanaugh, would improve Medicaid reentry practices by requiring Medicaid enrollment assistance and timely processing of applications so that those reentering have Medicaid coverage effective the day of their release or as soon as practicable.

LB929, introduced by Senator Anna Wishart, would provide 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage to eligible mothers. This change is important to promote the health and well-being of all Nebraskans and can help improve maternal health overall. LB862, introduced by Senator John McCollister, would cover outpatient and home dialysis, hemodialysis, and directed living donor kidney transplants under Nebraska’s emergency Medicaid program.

This week’s highlights:

A strong workers’ compensation system is essential for all Nebraskans.

On Monday, Nebraska worker advocates and Senator Adam Morfeld held a press conference to introduce LB 719, which makes important updates to Nebraska’s workers compensation system to support Nebraskans injured on the job. In addition to LB 719, we testified in support of LB 871, introduced by Senator Matt Hansen, which makes Nebraska’s meatpacking coordinator a full-time position, clarifies basic data to include in the coordinator’s annual report, and increases the availability of translation resources in large workplaces. Read more about the bills in our release here.

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We’ll let you know how you can take action to get involved and make your voice heard throughout the session!

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