Nebraska’s Early Medicaid Cuts Haunt Republicans

“When Republicans passed their mega tax-cut bill more than a year ago, they timed most of its more than $1 trillion in health care cuts to kick in after the midterm elections, perhaps staving off possible electoral impacts,” the Washington Sun reports.

“Nebraska, however, decided to launch early, rolling out new Medicaid work requirements in May and beginning enforcement in July, well before their mandated Jan. 1, 2027 start.”

“The decision turned the prospect of people losing access to health care from speculative to actual for more than 1,000 Nebraskans so far. And health care leaders, Republican observers and others now think it’s a contributor to a political climate that suddenly has GOP leaders on the defensive in a state that is reliably red.”