LB 775 creates the Rural Health Transformation Program within Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services to improve healthcare in rural areas. The program directly affects rural healthcare providers, patients, and communities by focusing on increasing access, quality, and outcomes through specific mechanisms: supporting health innovations, strengthening provider sustainability, recruiting healthcare workers, developing new care models, and expanding digital health tools. It requires using federal funds received from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) exclusively for these purposes, as specified in the bill's funding section. The program aims to transform rural healthcare delivery without specifying new taxes or mandatory requirements.
LB 22 requires Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services to adopt evidence-based nurse home-visitation programs for families with children under five or pregnant individuals. These programs must be delivered by nurses or trained professionals and focus on improving maternal/child health, parenting skills, and school readiness. The bill mandates that only programs meeting strict evidence-based standards - like national certification and culturally competent staff - receive state funding, and requires the department to report annually on program locations, outcomes, and funding use. It specifically excludes one-time visits and ensures families can decline services at any time. The law also directs the department to file a state plan amendment with federal authorities to secure Medicaid coverage for these services.
LB 198 amends Nebraska's Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) regulations to directly affect specialty pharmacies, pharmacists, and PBMs. It prohibits PBMs from excluding accredited specialty pharmacies from their networks and bans "spread pricing" (where PBMs charge health plans different prices than they pay pharmacies for drugs). The bill also allows network pharmacists to decline to dispense a drug as prescribed and updates definitions for terms like "clinician-administered drugs" and "specialty pharmacy." These changes aim to increase transparency, protect pharmacy access, and clarify PBM obligations under state law.
LB 332 creates a new "assistant funeral director" role to support licensed funeral directors, allowing assistants to help with funeral arrangements and management under direct supervision but prohibiting embalming (Sections 4-8). The bill expands Medicaid coverage to include psychology services provided by qualified practitioners and establishes the Rural Health Opportunity Program requiring a memorandum of understanding (Sections 38-1509, 38-1512). It also updates regulations for hearing instrument specialists, changes pharmacy board membership rules, and modifies prescription refill requirements. These changes directly affect funeral service professionals, healthcare providers, and Medicaid recipients in Nebraska.
This bill updates licensing rules for therapists and child care providers in Nebraska. It creates a new pathway for marriage and family therapists licensed in other states to obtain Nebraska licenses by meeting requirements (like passing a Nebraska jurisprudence exam), without needing to retake all exams. It also clarifies the scope of practice for occupational therapists by defining specific treatment modalities (like electrotherapeutic devices). Additionally, it changes liability insurance requirements for child care facility licensees and inspectors under the Child Care Licensing Act. These changes directly affect therapists seeking to practice in Nebraska and child care providers operating under state licensing rules.
LB 150 creates a pilot program where mental health professionals assist police during mental health emergencies, directly affecting law enforcement agencies and individuals in crisis. It eliminates the Division of Parole Supervision and its director position, transferring those responsibilities to the Department of Correctional Services. The bill also updates legal definitions (like changing "school employee" to "school worker" for sexual abuse offenses), removes minimum post-release supervision for certain felonies, and modifies debt collection rules. It makes numerous other technical changes across Nebraska law, including updating veterans' justice program provisions and mental health commitment act procedures.
LB 608 expands Nebraska's First Responder Recruitment and Retention Act to include correctional officers, youth detention officers, certain disabled former first responders, and their children. The bill modifies insurance protections so employers cannot cancel health coverage for line-of-duty injuries or deaths affecting these new categories, mirroring existing rules for firefighters. It also requires the state to partially reimburse public colleges for tuition waivers provided to eligible dependents of qualifying first responders. These changes apply to state and local employers covered under the act, with specific definitions added for "eligible disabled person" and "qualifying child." The law amends multiple sections of Nebraska statutes to implement these updates.
This bill requires annual suicide awareness and prevention training for all child welfare workers and employees of child-placing agencies in Nebraska. It mandates that this training, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services in consultation with mental health experts, must cover recognizing early warning signs and trauma-informed responses for youth in the child welfare system. The training is now a requirement for initial and renewed licensure of child welfare providers and agencies, effective October 1, 2025. This directly affects over 1,000 licensed foster care providers and child welfare staff who interact with children and families in Nebraska's system.
LB 454 amends Nebraska law to update rules for regional behavioral health authorities and establish the Behavioral Health Services Fund. It requires these authorities to adopt uniform fee policies based on consumer income (not exceeding service costs), mandate competitive bidding for services unless specific exemptions apply, and maintain separate budgets for behavioral health funding. The new Behavioral Health Services Fund will provide grants, loans, and reimbursements to support community-based behavioral health services statewide, including housing assistance for very low-income adults with serious mental illness. These changes directly affect regional behavioral health authorities, behavioral health providers, and consumers receiving public behavioral health services.
Nebraska's LB 77 adopts the Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act, requiring health insurers and Medicaid to clearly explain prior authorization decisions and post all requirements online by 2027. The law mandates that denials must be reviewed by a physician (or clinical peer) and include specific reasons citing coverage criteria, with expedited reviews for urgent care. It also requires insurers to cover biomarker testing - tests that identify specific biological markers for diagnosis - when prescribed by a doctor. This directly affects health insurers, providers, and patients by increasing transparency in coverage decisions and expanding access to certain diagnostic tests.
