29,000
Although many public benefit programs will continue during a federal government shutdown, which could start as early as this weekend, an extended shutdown would put vital nutrition assistance at risk for more than 29,000 children and infants in Nebraska. If the federal government shuts down after Saturday, states may eventually need to fill the gap to keep certain government services running, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Once federal contingency funds are depleted, it would be up to states to draw from reserves to sustain nutrition assistance. In Nebraska, WIC recipients include 29,000 children and infants. SNAP helps put food on the table for 170,000 Nebraskans.
During a government shutdown, Social Security and Medicare benefits will continue, but most national parks would close and child care programs like Head Start could shut down. The federal government says it has funds available to continue paying states for Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, through the end of the year.
Read more from the Associated Press
30
Nebraska is among the 30 states where people have been unnecessarily dropped off Medicaid during the initial stages of the months-long effort to review eligibility requirements after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Federal officials determined that those states were assessing eligibility for households as a whole and not at an individual level as required. However, this process penalizes children, who have higher household income thresholds to determine eligibility than adults. States are now reviewing eligibility determinations.
Since Nebraska began assessing Medicaid eligibility this spring, 37,298 recipients – 30% of those reviewed – lost their health care coverage. Nebraska does not provide an age breakdown so it’s not clear how many of those recipients are children. When the unwind began, 393,000 people – about 1 in 5 Nebraskans – were enrolled in Medicaid.
Read more from Side Effects Public Media
More information on the Medicaid “unwind” in Nebraska
$100
It’s no surprise that $100 goes further in rural areas than on the West Coast or in urban centers of the Northeast. But new analysis by the Tax Foundation offers perspective on the variance in what $100 buys across the country – and even across states – and the juxtaposition to tax brackets and public benefit income thresholds that are often measured in nominal dollars.
Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Tax Foundation determined that $100 in metro areas of Nebraska will buy goods and services worth about $107. It goes even further – approaching $114 – in rural areas of the state. Differences between areas are often linked to differences in housing costs.
Read more from the Tax Foundation
$12.31
At an early childhood education summit in Keaney this month, leaders grappled with the challenges surrounding a lack of funding, staffing issues and a scarcity of providers across Nebraska. The Buffett Early Childhood Institute reported that early childhood employees in Nebraska made an average wage of $12.31 an hour in 2022, and funding issues for providers are likely to grow as federal assistance linked to the pandemic expires.
Currently, 91% of Nebraska counties do not have enough licensed child care slots to meet demand. Policies should address making child care affordable for families, thereby allowing more parents to work, and improving wages for child care workers who play a key role in supporting children’s healthy development.
At the local level, creative solutions include a child care cooperative backed by several Norfolk businesses and organized in part by Tammy Day, an OpenSky Policy Institute board member.
Read more from the Omaha World-Herald
12 months
Medicaid coverage for new mothers in Nebraska will be extended from the current 60 days after giving birth to a full year in 2024. Gov. Jim Pillen announced the change this week, extending coverage beyond the six months of postpartum care that won Legislative approval during the 2023 session. Supporters of the extension noted the importance of postpartum health coverage for women and their children, with evidence that moms who seek care also schedule wellness visits for their newborn children.
Medicaid covers about 35% of all births in Nebraska. Women with incomes up to 194% of the federal poverty level ($4,850 per month for a household of four) are eligible for pregnant and postpartum coverage.