WASHINGTON — Nebraska no longer would be singled out for its controversial Medicaid exemption under a proposal unveiled Monday by President Barack Obama.
The health care bill, as approved by the Senate, covers the full cost of expanding Medicaid until 2017, when most states have to start contributing. Certain states receive extra funding however, and Nebraska is exempted from ever having to pay its share.
The president Monday proposed treating all states the same.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., welcomed that news.
“The president’s plan would significantly shrink a $35 billion unfunded federal mandate set to hit all states in health reform, which had gone unnoticed until I blew the whistle,” Nelson said Monday. “I have said all along that the federal government needs to either fully fund the new Medicaid costs for states, or to un-mandate the requirement on state budgets.”
The president’s proposal doesn’t quite do either. It calls for the federal government to cover the full cost of the expansion between 2014 and 2017, then 95 percent between 2018 and 2019 and 90 percent after that.
“All states will be treated equally and will not receive any special matching rates under this provision,” according to the White House.
Dubbed the “Cornhusker kickback” by critics, the Nebraska exemption was tucked into the health care bill as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sought to persuade Nelson to cast the crucial 60th vote to advance the legislation.
Nelson later asked to have the exemption removed and all states treated the same, saying that was the intent all along. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that covering the full costs of all states would run $35 billion over three years.
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202-662-7270, joe.morton@owh.com
