Sen. Ben Nelson’s explanations of the provision that would exempt Nebraska from extra Medicaid costs under the Senate health care bill:
Dec. 19 — Nelson announces his support for the bill and the exemption is made public. Nelson says he had simply told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he shared Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s concerns about the impact that the Medicaid expansion would have on Nebraska.
“I didn’t participate in finding the solution,” Nelson says. “I’m hopeful they find a way to help the other states as well.”
Dec. 20 — Appearing on CNN, Nelson again points to Heineman.
“I didn’t ask for a special favor here,” Nelson says. “I didn’t ask for a carve-out. What I said is the governor of Nebraska has contacted me, he said publicly he’s having trouble with the budget. This will add to his budget woes. And I said, look, we have to have that fixed.”
Within hours, Heineman releases a statement saying he had nothing to do with the exemption.
“Sen. Nelson negotiated this special deal, rather than a fair deal for both Nebraska and America,” Heineman says. “The responsibility for this special deal lies solely on the shoulders of Sen. Ben Nelson.”
Nelson quickly shoots back a letter to Heineman, saying: “I am prepared to ask that this provision be removed ... if it is your desire.” Nelson’s office refers to the “Heineman exemption.”
Dec. 21 — During a radio call-in show, Nelson says that he has long fought against unfunded federal mandates. He says there will be time to address the situation of other states, because the expanded Medicaid costs wouldn’t hit them until 2017.
“It will result in other states getting it, too,” Nelson says. “There are 47 other states that are going to demand the same thing, and they should.”
Dec. 22 — In a Senate floor speech, Nelson responds to criticism over the exemption, saying he never sought a special deal for Nebraska.
“The underlying facts are, this was pursued initially as an opt-in or opt-out for all states,” Nelson says, according to the Congressional Record. “It was impossible to do that at the present time, and so as a matter of fix, there was, in fact, the extension of the federal dollars from the year 2017 on, well into the future, as a marker to lay down so that every state could object to this manner of unfunded mandates.”
Dec. 24 — The Senate holds its final health care vote and senators leave Washington for the holidays.
Dec. 31 — Nelson calls South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is leading a group of GOP attorneys general threatening to sue over the Nebraska exemption. According to a memo by McMaster’s chief of staff that Politico obtained, “Sen. Nelson insisted that he had not asked for the Cornhusker kickback to be placed in the U.S. Senate version of the health care bill to secure his vote. Sen. Nelson told the attorney general that it was simply a ‘marker’ placed in the U.S. Senate version of the bill and assured the attorney general that it would be ‘fixed.’”
Jan. 7 — During a conference call with reporters, Nelson says Nebraska’s exemption had been included in the bill only as a “placeholder.” “Regardless of the language in the bill, my intent has been and remains absolutely clear: Every state should be treated the same,” Nelson says.
Jan. 10 — On “Meet the Press,” Nelson responds to criticism from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that extra funding for Nebraska was “like buying a vote.” Nelson says he didn’t hold back his vote on health care legislation just to get more money for his state, “but to fix the unfunded Medicaid mandate for all states.”
Jan. 15 — Nelson asks Reid in a letter to remove the Nebraska exemption. “To remove any attempts at continued distortion or miscommunication on this point ... I ask that the Nebraska Medicaid exemption be removed and that all states receive equal treatment under the Medicaid expansion,” Nelson writes.
Jan. 25 — In a floor speech, Nelson says everyone needs to join the battle against unfunded mandates and refers to a Congressional Budget Office estimate that extending the Nebraska exemption to all states would cost $35 billion. “This means Congress was about to pass a $35 billion unfunded mandate on to the states — until I got wind of it. Let me say that again. Congress was about to send a $35 billion bill to the states until I blew the whistle.”
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