47

LB 22, introduced by Senator George Dungan, passed last week with 47 legislators voting to send it to the desk of Governor Jim Pillen for his signature. The legislation directs the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a state plan amendment to implement targeted case management for nurse home visiting services for parents and children under the age of 6 months who receive Medicaid benefits. Home visitation is proven to have significant long-term outcomes for babies and parents, including a 48% reduction in reported child abuse cases, a 26% reduction in the need for special education services, and a 27% reduction in homelessness among families receiving home visition. 

Nebraska’s portion of the program would be funded through the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund, which was created in 2020 to collect excess profits generated by the  Managed Care Organizations that administer the state’s Medicaid program. These funds can then be reinvested by the state to address the health needs of adults and children in Medicaid. Approval of a state plan amendment draws down federal funding for the program through CMS and sets guidelines for reimbursements for each service. 

4,000

According to a recent analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), about 4,000 Nebraskans who receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are United States military veterans. They are part of a nationwide cohort of 1.2 million veterans who receive critical nutrition support under the program, formerly known as food stamps. USDA research has found that veterans have a 7.4-percent greater risk for food insecurity than nonveterans, accounting for observable differences. 

The number is particularly concerning since a budget reconciliation package advanced by the House of Representatives in February and the Senate last week calls for significant cuts to federal investments in SNAP. Several specific policy proposals may be particularly challenging to navigate for veterans, including the expansion of work requirements. About 31% of veterans have a service-connected disability, a 100% increase over time since 2008. Post-9/11 veterans, the youngest group of veterans, are more likely to have a service-connected disability than other veterans, according to CBPP. 

Some of the more common conditions occurring in recent veterans, such as traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder, can have a host of side effects that impact ability to perform at work, causing further troubles in retaining employment. Even for veterans who are not disabled, there are often barriers to transitioning into the civilian workforce, including misunderstandings about the transferability of skills, lack of formal education and difficulty adapting to civilian employment culture. As a result, many veterans pursue low-wage work that makes SNAP benefits necessary for food security. 

6.4 Million

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recently celebrated 50 years since its initial passage in 1975. It was expanded significantly under President Ronald Reagan, who called it “the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress.” The program was the result of a bipartisan effort to boost the wages of low-income workers and families, and has proven incredibly effective as a poverty elimination mechanism. In 2023 alone, the most recent year for which data is available, the means-tested income tax credit lifted 6.4 million people out of poverty, among them 3.4 million children. 

Since the initial passage, several states have enacted their own state-level version of the EITC, including Nebraska. The state sets its EITC at 10% of the federal credit amount. It has already proven itself to be an effective way to help reduce poverty, spur economic growth, and help low income workers and their families make ends meet. This year, Senator Eliot Bostar introduced LB 710, which would increase the credit to 20%. Modeling from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that over 95% of the increased credit would go to the lowest 40% of earners in Nebraska, whose annual incomes are about $32,000 on average. Since EITC recipients typically spend the money they receive from the credit on necessary household expenses like rent, groceries, and other basic goods and services, much of it flows directly back into local economies. As a result, Nebraska sees a strong return on its investment – studies from other states estimate that every $1 of spending from EITC benefits generates between $1.50 and $2 worth of local economic activity.