29-01-2025
Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program, new Medicaid reimbursements take effect
Testifiers who supported the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program after its hearing, from left: Marion Miner of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, Sara Howard of First Five Nebraska, Sarah Maresh of Nebraska Appleseed, Dr. Ann Anderson Barry of the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative, Sen. George Dungan, Chad Abresch senior adviser for CityMatCH and Scout Richters of the ACLU of Nebraska. Feb. 7, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Medicaid-eligible pregnant mothers in Nebraska officially have access to new reimbursements for various prenatal services to help prevent low birth weights, preterm births and adverse birth outcomes.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday the full implementation of the Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program. The law, passed 45-0 in Legislative Bill 857 of 2024, was led by State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln.
Prenatal Plus mirrors similar successful programs in Colorado and Florida and is designed for at-risk mothers, as identified by their prenatal health care provider.
Five services are provided and eligible for reimbursement under the Nebraska program:
Up to six sessions of nutrition counseling.
Psychosocial counseling and support.
General client education and health promotion.
Breastfeeding support.
Targeted case management.
At-risk mothers who are in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are currently not eligible for Nebraska Prenatal Plus, which was done in part to help reduce the fiscal impact of the law and get it over the finish line.
Dungan said the program has been a long time coming and will benefit many people. He encouraged his colleagues to continue supporting the program, including its annual report on the number of mothers served, services offered and birth outcomes for each mother served.
'I'm just excited to see the program getting off the ground,' Dungan said Wednesday.
Long term, the program is expected to reduce Medicaid costs because of upfront targeted care. Dungan said the goal is all about 'healthy moms and healthy babies.'
'I think we're going to see better educational outcomes. We're going to see better behavioral health outcomes,' Dungan said. 'All of these things can be tied back to being healthy at birth and in prenatal care.'
The legislation had a broad array of support, including Nebraska Appleseed, ACLU of Nebraska, Nebraska Right to Life, Nebraska Catholic Conference, Nebraska State Board of Health, Nebraska Hospital Association and Nebraska Nurses Association.
Dungan's LB 857 also included legislation from State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, LB 933, to require Medicaid to cover continuous glucose monitors for individuals with gestational diabetes.
The Bosn-Dungan programs were estimated to cost $3.4 million in state cash funds and $5.5 million from the federal government in the first full fiscal year of operation.
Former State Sen. Sara Howard, policy adviser for First Five Nebraska, a nonprofit that advocates for early childhood support and education, helped craft the Nebraska Prenatal Plus law. She said it was crucial for mothers and children and the state as a whole.
'The rollout of the Prenatal Plus Program represents an important step forward by offering a variety of supports to women throughout their pregnancies, ensuring better health outcomes for moms and babies statewide,' Howard said in a text. 'We are deeply grateful to Senator Dungan for his leadership and hard work to make Prenatal Plus a reality.'
Starting Jan. 1, the state also began covering, for Medicaid-eligible mothers or their children, electronic personal-use breast pumps and at least 10 lactation consultation visits. Former State Sen. Jen Day of Omaha led those changes as part of LB 1215 last year.
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