Nebraska HealthWatch is a joint project between Lincoln DSA, Omaha DSA, and Debt Collective.

Nebraska recently began enforcing new federal Medicaid work requirements a full eight months before nearly every other state in the country.

This rushed rollout of a federal policy expected to kick tens of thousands of Nebraskans off healthcare is reckless and unnecessary. Our leadership made the choice to start these cuts early, but Nebraskans are the ones who will pay the price. It’s time to press pause.

Nebraskans shouldn’t be guinea pigs for a federal mandate, especially when our healthcare is on the line. Here are our concerns:

• DHHS isn’t prepared. The department never staffed up to handle the extra verification work, and it shows. They’re sending unclear and confusing notices, the phone lines have short hours and long hold times, and even those who eventually manage to get someone on the line report getting conflicting information from overworked staff.
• Workers & patients will suffer. Arkansas and Georgia have both tried work requirements like these. People who clearly met all the criteria were forced to fill out mountains of paperwork, and many lost health coverage anyway due to red tape and administrative errors. Neither state saw any measurable increase in employment. The same thing is on track to happen here in Nebraska, made worse by the rushed rollout.
• Rural Nebraska pays first. Nebraska’s Medicaid enrollment skews rural. When people lose coverage, our health problems don’t disappear. And when we can’t afford our medical bills, those costs don’t disappear. Rural Nebraskans will be trapped in debt, and uncompensated care costs will further strain our state’s struggling rural hospitals and clinics.