Jul 10, 2018 Updated Jul 19, 2018
Sen. Lydia Brasch of
Bancroft and former Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial filed a lawsuit Tuesday
attempting to block Nebraska's proposed Medicaid expansion initiative from
reaching the general election ballot.
The lawsuit was filed
in Lancaster County District Court after Medicaid expansion supporters
completed a petition drive that appears to have gathered sufficient signatures
to win a slot on the November ballot.
Tuesday's court action
raises a number of claims that the petitions have failed to meet all legal
requirements.
Responding to the
lawsuit, Medicaid expansion campaign manager Meg Mandy said "this is
clearly a desperate attempt to block the people's ability to voice their
opinion on this issue and ensure affordable health care for 90,000 Nebraskans."
Brasch and Christensen
are "two politicians who have failed to bring back $1 billion of Nebraska
taxpayers' money and who have failed to find solutions for working Nebraskans
to access health care," she said.
Mandy, campaign
manager for Insure the Good Life, the organization that conducted the
successful petition drive, said supporters are confident the initiative will
appear on the ballot in November.
Brasch, who is
Nebraska's Republican national committeewoman, is listed as a plaintiff who is
"opposed to the Medicaid expansion petition because of the negative impact
it will have on property taxes in Nebraska."
Christensen is
described as "concerned that if the Medicaid expansion petition proceeds,
his son's existing benefits will be reduced or altered."
More than 133,000
Nebraskans have signed petitions to place the proposal on the November ballot.
That figure appears to provide adequate cushion for the 84,268 valid signatures
that would be required after a review by county election officials and a decision
by Secretary of State John Gale.
The initiative
proposal would extend Medicaid coverage to a pool of uninsured Nebraskans who
are generally described as the working poor.
The lawsuit suggests a
number of procedural, statutory and constitutional flaws that would render the
initiative petition "invalid and legally insufficient," including a
claim that language in the initiative seeks to "exercise legislative power
specifically reserved to the executive branch."
The proposal would
bring an estimated $1 billion in federal funding flowing into the state while
requiring a state match that officials in the administration of Gov. Pete
Ricketts have said would eventually accumulate to some $800 million over a
10-year period.
The Nebraskans who
would be impacted do not qualify for Medicaid now, but cannot afford to
purchase health care coverage on their own.
Supporters have argued
that the infusion of federal funding would spur economic development and help
secure the future of rural hospitals in Nebraska while treating health
conditions before they spiral into serious health challenges that may result in
far more expensive and uncompensated care.
The Legislature has
rejected a variety of Medicaid expansion proposals during each of the past
seven years. Across the country, 33 states have approved Medicaid expansion.
The vast majority of
current Medicaid recipients are children and the elderly.
https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/senators-file-suit-to-block-medicaid-expansion-from-appearing-on/article_4c33e5e9-a0e2-5683-8187-2f45e1b644f4.html
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