Nebraska’s Medicaid expansion plan will not be fully implemented when it becomes effective on Oct. 1.
The 90,000 low-income Nebraskans in the workforce who will be newly eligible for coverage will have access to basic Medicaid benefits, but most will not have access to coverage for dental and vision services or over-the-counter medication because of the newest delay mandated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Ricketts administration has proposed that those specific benefits in Nebraska must be earned by participation in wellness, personal responsibility and community engagement activities.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS (the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has focused considerable time and attention toward addressing this unprecedented public health emergency,” the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday.
“As a result, CMS has notified DHHS that approval of Nebraska’s expansion demonstration waiver will not be finished in time for Nebraska’s planned expansion.”
The Ricketts administration unveiled its plan one year ago.
The scheduled Oct. 1 implementation date will come almost two years after Nebraska voters approved Medicaid expansion in November 2018 and the new federal decision will push full implementation back another six months.
Benefits are targeted at a new category of recipients composed largely of Nebraskans whose income is at or below 138% of the poverty level, or approximately $16,000 a year.
Typical recipients would include food service employees and retail clerks.
Applications for coverage will begin to be accepted on Aug. 1, state officials said.