Latest OpenSky primer provides an overview of Medicaid funding in Nebraska
OpenSky is excited to announce the completion of our latest primer, “A Healthy Nebraska: An Overview of Medicaid in the Cornhusker State.”
Like our previous primers on state tax and budget policy and education finance policy, the latest primer is meant to create more understanding of a complicated and yet vital issue. Our primer illustrates how Medicaid funding — which is the second largest item in the state’s general fund budget after K-12 education support — interacts with other parts of the state budget and it helps clarify who uses Medicaid and what kind of services the program covers.
The primer also discusses current and future trends regarding Medicaid and CHIP funding.
Access to quality health care is a key element of ‘The Good Life’ we live in Nebraska because it helps keep our state’s residents working and thriving and Medicaid and CHIP funding are essential to helping many Nebraskans receive such care. Medicaid and CHIP enable about 225,000 Nebraskans to receive health care coverage and about 93 percent of that funding helps provide coverage to the children, the disabled and the elderly. Were it not for Medicaid, many Nebraskans would have to forgo cancer treatment, necessary surgeries and other health care that they need.
This primer aims to provide a deeper understanding of this vital issue with the goal of helping state leaders formulate healthcare policies that truly improve the lives of every Nebraskan. (Download a printable PDF of the primer.)