LINCOLN — Nebraska’s top Medicaid official announced Thursday that a second major part of the two-tier Medicaid expansion program has been put on hold. The decision means that low-income, working-age adults — the bulk of those covered under the expansion — will have no way to receive dental, vision and over-the-counter medication benefits for the foreseeable future.
Those benefits are automatically part of traditional Medicaid. But state officials had planned to require that expansion patients meet six wellness and personal responsibility goals to qualify for the benefits. The qualification period was to start April 1.
Now, State Medicaid Director Kevin Bagley said federal officials have indicated that they have concerns about the plan and are unlikely to approve it in time for an April launch. That leaves the future of the two-tier plan, called Heritage Health Adult, up in the air.
Earlier this month, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services alerted Nebraska officials that the Biden administration was looking to withdraw approval for another key part of the two-tier plan.
That part, which was to start in 2022, would have required most expansion patients to work, volunteer or do other specified activities for 80 hours a month to get full benefits. The “community engagement” requirements were to be in addition to the wellness and personal responsibility requirements.