Conservative Nebraska think tank releases report on Medicaid expansion costs
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Platte Institute has released a report detailing the cost of Medicaid expansion in Nebraska.
The conservative think tank, founded by Pete Ricketts in 2007, says the Medicaid expansion under Nebraska ballot initiative 427 may hinder the state’s ability to fund future projects or provide future tax relief.
“Many states have seen their Medicaid expansion programs balloon beyond projections, and Nebraska is no exception,” Platte Institute CEO Jim Vokal said in a news release Tuesday. “As we warned in previous forecasts, even while federal funds cover 90% of the costs, the state’s share is growing faster than expected, crowding out other critical areas of our state budget and potentially limiting future tax cuts.”
According to the report, the expansion cost Nebraska $52.9 million in 2021, and has since increased to $103 million in 2023. The report expresses concerns with the expansion of Medicaid that the state may not be able to keep up with other essential government functions, and says that more scrutiny is necessary for Medicaid spending in the future.
In a 2023 study on Medicaid in Nebraska, the Open Sky Institute said UNMC’s Center for Health Policy has recommended expansions of medical care programs so healthcare professionals can more effectively reach rural areas of the state, which often have higher poverty rates than urban areas — and more seniors.
According to the Open Sky study, five to seven rural hospitals in Nebraska were operating at a deficit and struggling to remain open as the price of labor and supplies increased.
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