LINCOLN- In 2021, the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill that would have spared victims of violent crime from the burdensome process of being reimbursed for medical treatment, and instead allow providers to send medical bills directly to the state. However, two years later, not a single provider has been reimbursed by the state through the newly-created process. The bill originally sought to change one piece of Nebraska's Crime Victim's Reparations Program, but a report released by Flatwater Free Press indicated that Nebraska helps far fewer people than nearly every other state.

The program's sole staff member stated that Nebraska has received only four reimbursement claims directly from providers, with all coming from Methodist Health System. Thus far, all four claims are still pending, and no reimbursements have been successfully processed under the new, two-year-old law. Gretchen Mills, the sole staff member, said that the state is working to fix this system. "There is a focus underway to ensure those are processed as quickly as possible and that all future submitted claims are managed in a timely manner," she said.

Both CHI Health and Methodist confirmed that they hadn't successfully billed the program directly. "Even though Methodist is now able to route unpaid balances to Nebraska's Crime Victim's Reparations Program, it remains a work in progress," said Jeff Francis, vice president and chief financial officer of Methodist, "We have not yet received a payment." Often, victim's of violent crime find themselves saddled with medical bills they are unable to pay, and are even sometimes hounded by debt collectors.

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