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Medicaid Reforms are needed says new report

Medicaid spending in Nebraska has nearly doubled in the last decade and the cost to taxpayers has also gone up.

That’s according to a new study released by the Platte Institute on Medicaid Reform. 

Jim Vokal, CEO of the Platte Institute, says his organization decided to look at Medicaid reform because they knew in all probability that Medicaid expansion wouldn’t pass in the future. 

He says the Platte Institute is concerned about the most vulnerable people in Nebraska and sees opportunities from other states that would allow for substantial savings in Nebraska. 

Vokal says those funds could then be reinvested in those people that are on waiting lists.

"Over the last decade we’ve increased the taxpayers’ Medicaid portion by $125 million a year and nearly doubled the program in the state.  By utilizing some of the reform strategies of other states, it allows us to cap and decrease the cost to taxpayers but also provide an opportunity to reinvest those savings into helping the most vulnerable.”

Vokal says the states of Pennsylvania and Illinois invested in eligibility reviews that are technology based to ensure that the people who need the benefits are the ones that receive them. 

He says that has saved those states hundreds of millions of dollars.  He says in Kansas and Florida, the options for Medicaid plans are expanded which has led to savings due to competition. 

KIOS reached out to the Open Sky Institute, but they could not comment on the report because Medicaid isn't one of their areas of expertise