Federal Policy
Medicaid
Medicaid participation is critical to the well being of thousands of Nebraskans, especially children
Medicaid is a vital source of health coverage for thousands of Nebraskans, including children, pregnant women and low-income working families. Access to medicaid helps ensure that individuals can receive care and manage their health conditions without facing overwhelming financial burdens.Medicaid coverage also supports rural hospitals and hegalth care providers across Nebraska, helping to maintain care in communities throughout the state while contributing to healthier families and a stronger workforce.
Medicaid in Nebraska
Of all persons enrolled in Medicaid in Nebraska, 46% are children.
One in three Nebraska children covered by Medicaid is under age 6.
Medicaid pays for 38% of all births in Nebraska and helps ensure access to prenatal, maternity and postpartum care.
Nearly half of all Nebraskans enrolled in Medicaid live in rural counties.
Almost half (44%) of Nebraska’s rural hospitals are already operating at a loss as the costs of providing health care continue to outpace Medicaid reimbursement rates.
H.R. 1’s Medicaid cuts will have cascading effects in Nebraska over 10 years and beyond
On July 4, 2025, H.R.1 (also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) was signed into law—a development that will send shockwaves through our families, communities and state as it fundamentally restructures Medicaid eligibility, financing and operations.
How H.R.1 affects Nebraska
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Shifts greater economic burdens onto our state budget, which already faces a projected $170 million shortfall in 2027.
Pressures Nebraska lawmakers to either maintain current levels of coverage by cutting funding to other essential programs, or allow as many as 24,300 Medicaid expansion adults and 3,000 or more children to lose access to health care.
Medicaid is Nebraska’s single largest federal grant category, representing 47% of all federal funding received. Our state is simply not positioned to absorb a federal funding reduction on this scale without triggering dire social and economic consequences.
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Requires states to re-verify the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries every six months instead of once per year.
Imposes more stringent work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, despite the fact that 92% of recipients are either already working, or are caregiving, ill, disabled or in school.
Ends automatic re-enrollment in the ACA Marketplace and reduces supports that help people understand and navigate their coverage options.
These measures will create additional administrative and staffing costs for our state and cause more Nebraskans to lose coverage due to paperwork issues, not ineligibility. This kind of red tape does not increase accountability or efficiency. It creates barriers that result in more medical debt and worse health outcomes, while driving up uncompensated costs for Nebraska health care providers.
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Restricts our state’s options to leverage provider taxes*—fees used to draw down federal Medicaid dollars—even as health care costs continue to rise. This shifts more of the costs of Medicaid coverage directly onto state budgets.
Caps and reduces State Directed Payments (SDPs), a tool Nebraska uses to support hospitals and other health care providers by directing dollars where they’re needed most.
Taken together, these changes threaten the sustainability of health care in Nebraska, especially for providers in rural areas who rely heavily on Medicaid funding to deliver services.
Take Action
Educate
Yourself
Learn more about Medicaid provisions in H.R.1 and their impact on Nebraskans.
Recognize Misinformation
Learn how to recognize and correct Medicaid misinformation.
Contact your Nebraska delegate
Call or write to Nebraska’s federal delegates to tell them that you support not only continued, but increased funding for Head Start and the services it provides in Nebraska.
Head Start
Head Start Funding Must Keep Pace with the Rising Costs of Delivering Quality Care
Head Start-funded programs give Nebraska’s youngest children a foundation for lifelong success—but they face significant challenges to their sustainability. Head Start’s national funding currently stands at $12.36 billion, which incorporates a modest $85 billion funding increase for 2026. However, the President’s FY2027 budget proposal would keep funding flat in the coming fiscal year. No funding increases for Head Start means the program will struggle to keep up with the rapidly rising costs of delivering quality services, jeopardizing the reach and availability of these services in our state and nation.
Head Start in Nebraska
Serves over 5,500 children in 56 of the state’s 93 counties every year.
Provides jobs for more than 2,100 staff including teachers, home visitors and other providers of wraparound services.
Promotes families’ financial self-sufficiency by enabling parents to work or pursue education, providing counseling on household budgeting, offering guidance on maintaining stable housing and more.
Head Start is Key to Nebraska’s Early Childhood Infrastructure
Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs that provide low-income children, from birth through age five, with comprehensive, high-quality early learning, health, nutrition and family support services. Through these programs, federal funds are granted directly to local service providers throughout the state, including both center- and home-based child care settings.
Take Action
Learn more about Head Start in Nebraska
by downloading the First Five Years Fund’s state factsheet.
Share your
success stories
Share your Head Start success stories and messages of support with local print and broadcast media, public officials and other influencers. Be sure to use the #NESupportsHeadStart hashtag on social media.
Contact your Nebraska delegate
Call or write to Nebraska’s federal delegates to tell them that you support not only continued, but increased funding for Head Start and the services it provides in Nebraska.
WIC: Women, Infants & Children program
WIC Provides Crucial Nutritional Supports to Mothers and Children
The federally funded WIC program—the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—strengthens health outcomes for thousands of Nebraska women and children in low-income families. The program provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health care and social services, which is likely to contribute to lower rates of preterm delivery, low birth weight and infant mortality, better preventative care and immunization, improved school readiness and stronger maternal health outcomes overall.
WIC in Nebraska
Nebraska drew over $50M in federal dollars through WIC (2025).
Provides monthly food benefits equivalent to $76.49 per participant, compared to $81.49 nationwide (2024).
Serves over 28,000 infants and children under age 5 and 7,700 pregnant and postpartum women (2024).
Only about 60% of eligible Nebraskans participated in WIC, meaning that 24,000 eligible individuals missed out on crucial health and child development benefits (2023).
Potential Cuts to WIC Funding Threaten Reach and Impact of Services in Nebraska
In June of 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that proposes slashing overall WIC funding by $200 million. Specifically, the bill would cut deeply into allocations for fresh fruits and vegetables, significantly reducing access to healthy produce for pregnant or postpartum mothers and their children.
Given that over 154,000 Nebraska households experienced food insecurity or very low food security in 2021-23, we cannot afford to reduce access to nutritional benefits that can offset Nebraska’s rates of infant and maternal mortality, low birthweight and other hazards to the health, wellbeing and developmental needs of mothers and children.
Take Action
Learn more
by downloading our factsheet on the importance of the WIC program in Nebraska.
Take to your socials
Take to social media to share information about WIC and how it benefits our state. Be sure to use the #ProtectWIC hashtag.
Contact your Nebraska delegate
Call or write to Nebraska’s federal delegates to tell them that you support not only continued, but increased funding for Head Start and the services it provides in Nebraska.
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