June 2, 2021

This is the story you want to show your Democratic friends who still persist in the delusion of ticket splitting "so they'll keep an eye on each other." Nebraskans voted to expand Medicaid in November 2018, and the Republican governor piled on coverage restrictions and work requirements -- including postponing eligibility and implementation for more than a year.

Now, because Joe Biden got elected, voters will get exactly what they wanted. Starting Oct. 1, covered Nebraskans will have all the benefits of Medicaid -- that's an estimated 90,000 people.

Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration applied for a Section 1115 waiver to construct a two-tier system of coverage that required people to meet "wellness, personal responsibility and community engagement goals" to qualify for the dental, vision and over-the-counter medication benefits that are part of traditional Medicaid coverage.

The Biden administration said nope, they weren't going to approve a waiver for the community engagement requirement. (Republicans are having a sad over the removal of the punitive requirement.)

The proposed community engagement requirements included working, volunteering or doing other activities for 80 hours a month.

Ricketts publicly used cost as an excuse to keep delaying coverage, but as we know, under the Affordable Care Act, no state is responsible for more than 10% of the yearly cost of Medicaid expansion.

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