On Feb. 10, the bill was given a public hearing before a legislative committee.
The bill, which was revealed in late January and is sponsored by Sen. John McCollister (R), would “use federal and state Medicaid dollars to buy privatized insurance for some low-income residents and subsidize coverage for others who have access to employer-sponsored plans” and “cover people who are deemed medically frail,” according to the report.
According to a recent report by healthcare strategy firm Optumas, the Medicaid expansion bill would cover 74,000 low-income Nebraskans, give premium assistance to 35,000 Nebraskans with employer-sponsored insurance and give traditional Medicaid coverage to 15,000 who are deemed medically frail.
For a 10-year period under the Medicaid bill, Nebraska would pay $978 million and the federal government would pay $13.8 billion, the Optumas report found.
Sen. McCollister remained positive about the bill’s future, claiming it “has critics to be sure, but thus far they have only offered critiques without viable alternatives,” according to The Associated Press.
But others are not as optimistic. Members of Gov. Pete Ricketts’ (R) administration believe the bill cannot be sustained, according to The Associated Press.
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