Legislative bill calls for women's health care waivers

A few years ago, the Nebraska Legislature commissioned a study on Medicaid reform. A year later, the legislators presented various programs and improvements. Almost all of them are in place now.

Sen. Danielle Nantkes of Lincoln is working to change that.

Nantkes introduced LB370. The bill would require Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services to apply for a federal government waiver that would make women’s health care treatments available to more disadvantaged women, including those who don’t currently qualify under Medicaid.

The bill applies to basic health care services, such as cervical and breast cancer screening, STI tests and treatment, Pap smears and basic contraceptive services.
Any provider that accepts Medicaid would be affected, including Planned Parenthood and other family planning services or recognized health care providers.

“It’s just a basic, common sense legislation,” said Bobbie Kierstead, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs. “Why would we not do something that both saves money and improves public health?”

Thus far, 27 states have asked for waivers, Kierstead said, and those states have registered significant increases in the number of women receiving health care. Every dollar spent toward increasing services meant, on average, $4 in Medicaid savings the next year, she said.

Based on 2006 data, Nebraska would cover more than 20,000 women with the bill and would save more than $8 million from the state budget, she said.

That’s not actually the case, said Greg Schleppenbach, state director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference.  He plans to testify against LB370 when it goes to committee and provide multiple studies proving the bill may not actually reduce pregnancies or save money.

The conference plans to officially oppose the bill for this reason and because it would give money to institutions that provide or promote abortions.

Kierstead rejected those arguments as irrelevant to LB370.

“That argument is a transparent political attack,” she said. “It’s a false argument.”

There’s no way the funding in LB370 would go toward abortions, Kierstead said, because the bill covers a specific list of health care services, and none of those relate to abortions.

That doesn’t matter, Schleppenbach said.  He said the fact that money would be going to an institution that provides abortions is not OK, no matter where that money would specifically be used.

“We’ve got a big problem with more tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood,” he said, “regardless of for what.”

Nantkes is optimistic about the bill and hopes the opposition doesn’t provide a barrier to its passage.

“This bill has the potential to be the most pro-life piece of legislation we could pass this year,” she said. “I think they’re really misguided because I think our goals are the same.”

jennagibson@dailynebraskan.com