Calder Lynch, state Medicaid director for the Department of Health and Human Services, said he will oppose legislative bill (LB1032), which would expand health insurance coverage for more than 100,000 Nebraskans, according to Lincoln Journal Star.
Here are five highlights:
1. The bill would cost the state approximately $100 million annually over a 10-year period, totaling almost $978 million.
2. Mr. Lynch will testify against the bill at its public hearing today.
3. He does not believe the proposal is sustainable, and says it may impact the current Medicaid disabilities population's ability to access needed assistance.
4. Those in favor of the bill say it would use federal Medicaid dollars that have been available to since the ACA was enacted. Senator Heath Mello of Omaha, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the bill uses funds from the state's healthcare cash fund to finance the plan, thus not impacting the state tax-supported general fund for the next five years.
5. Mr. Lynch said Medicaid is not the sole option to meet the needs of the uninsured population, and he voices concerns over a provision in the bill that would automatically dissolve the program if the federal government went back on its pledge to give 90 percent of funding.
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