OMAHA WORLD HERALD EDITORIAL: A daily concern has long hung over the heads of tens of thousands of low-income Nebraskans. These men and women have incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but they still lack adequate health insurance coverage.

Prenatal treatment, dental work, prescription needs, a heart attack — the prospect of these and many other major health needs and their expenses has weighed greatly on these Nebraskans. Now, at last, the state is offering help. Nebraska this month joined the 38 states plus the District of Columbia that have adopted expanded Medicaid coverage. Nebraskans approved this step, which this newspaper editorially supported, in a 2018 state ballot initiative under procedures from the Nebraska Constitution.

The arrival of this expanded coverage also can help in the wake of the COVID crisis, which has pushed many Nebraskans out of their jobs. More than half of those Nebraskans will be eligible for Medicaid expansion, according to the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed. This expansion of coverage is by no means an urban-only endeavor. A considerable portion of Nebraska’s rural residents also will be eligible. The benefits from this historic step will be statewide.

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