Judge Dismisses GOP Effort To Block Nebraska's Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measure
A Nebraska judge dismissed an effort to block that state's Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative, clearing the way for voters to decide in November whether to increase access to healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Lydia Brasch, who became a national Republican committeewoman earlier this year, and former Sen. Mark Christensen, known for his push to allow Nebraska teachers to carry guns, filed a lawsuit in July that “suggests a number of procedural, statutory and constitutional flaws," media reports at the time said. But Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus on Tuesday rejected those arguments.
Supporters of Medicaid expansion in Nebraska cheered the district judge's ruling.
"We are pleased to hear from the Court that Nebraska voters will have the opportunity to decide to lower property taxes and expand Medicaid to the 90,000 Nebraskans who work at jobs that don’t come with health insurance," Insure the Good Life campaign manager Meg Mandy said. “More than 135,000 Nebraskans from every county signed the petition to put this to a vote of the people, which shows this isn’t a partisan issue. Every Nebraskan should have access to healthcare, like heart medication or cancer treatment, when they are sick.”
Nebraska, Utah and Idaho could follow the lead of voters in Maine who last November voted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act via ballot initiative. These states are seeking ballot initiatives because their Republican-leaning legislatures or governors like Nebraska's Pete Ricketts have been roadblocks to the idea.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/08/28/judge-dismisses-republican-effort-to-block-nebraska-medicaid-expansion/#94bd4be4c933