Every state has a Medicaid program. There is federal funding that each state can use to expand its Medicaid program, but not all states choose to do so. Nebraska is among the states that decided not to expand Medicaid. This means that some low-income adults will not qualify for Medicaid in Nebraska.
Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It is designed to provide health insurance coverage for individuals and families who are low-income and who cannot afford to purchase a health insurance plan from a private insurance company. Medicaid is funded in part by the federal government. It is also funded, in part, by the government of an individual state.
In Nebraska, the Medicaid program is administered by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medicaid and Long Term Care. The state of Nebraska has also contracted a company called Qualis Health “to see that people who are enrolled in the Nebraska Medicaid program receive the correct services in the right way.”
Many states have accepted federal funding that will be used to expand their Medicaid programs. Nebraska is not among those states. The Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, is opposed to the portion of the Affordable Care Act that allows states to expand their Medicaid programs with the use of this funding. This means that adults who live in Nebraska who are not pregnant, who are not disabled, who do not have dependent children living with them, and who are younger than 65 years of age, will not be eligible for Medicaid in Nebraska.
It is not easy to find specific information about the eligibility requirements for Medicaid in Nebraska. Clicking on the links on the Nebraska Medicaid Program website eventually loops you back around to where you started. To apply for Medicaid, a person must contact their nearest Department of Health and Human Services Office, or can download an application form and mail it in.
The only information about eligibility for Medicaid in Nebraska that I can find says:
“Nebraska Medicaid is available to certain low income persons including persons who are aged, blind, disabled, children, and others who meet eligibility requirements. Kids Connection is part of Nebraska Medicaid and provides medical assistance to children age 18 and younger”.
There is nothing on the website about residency requirements, income guidelines, or the timeframe in which a pregnant woman must apply for Medicaid. I’ve been blogging about the Medicaid programs for several states. Nebraska isn’t anywhere near as informative about the eligibility requirements for Medicaid as many other states are.
Image by Peter Zillmann on Flickr