By: Nicole Toren
OMAHA, Neb. — This Nov. 6, Nebraskans will vote on whether to expand Medicaid eligibility in the state, known as Initiative 427.
The initiative will increase Medicaid eligibility to 90-thousand adults ages 19 to 65 who currently do not meet the eligibility requirements. These individuals make less than 17,000 dollars a year and mostly work in food service, construction, retail, care services, transportation and more.
“Every job I have I’ve lost by being looked at as a liability because I am unable to get the health care I need to make my issues preventable,” says Ashley Anderson, a 25-year-old Nebraskan resident who has been diagnosed with Epilepsy since she was a child.
Anderson says the expansion is to help individuals like her who make too much money to receive Medicaid, yet not enough to be able to afford health care on her own.
“I’m constantly having seizures, because I am rationing my medication to make it last.”
Anderson voiced her support for the initiative at the Nebraska district two public hearing held October 11. This was the first of three hearings held in each district of the state where people could come and share their reasons for why people should vote “for” or “against” on Initiative 427.
Supporters for the expansion say it will not only help 90-thousand Nebraskans who need Medicaid, but it will also create 10-thousand new jobs, help keep rural hospitals open, and will generate 1.1 billion dollars of new economic activity annually for the state.
Opponents against the expansion, however, say it will create a burden for taxpayers to make up for underestimated numbers of new recipients and costs. They also say it will put less focus on the initial users of Medicaid such as the elderly, disabled individuals, children and their parents who need the service the most.
According to a report provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, if approved, the expansion will create an estimated 6.3 billion dollars in aid cost over 10 years and between 689.6 million and 736 million new costs to the state. There is also no effective date for the new coverage to begin, but it will likely not happen earlier than Jan. 1, 2020 as the department prepares for the influx of new recipients.
For more information about voting on Initiative 427, visit the Nebraska secretary of state’s website.
The last district hearing on Initiative 427 for congressional district three will be held at 6 p.m. October 30 in the College Park of Grand Island Theater Room, 3180 W. Highway 34, Grand Island.
