All Roll Calls
Yes: 832 • No: 0
NebraskaLB867109th Legislature 1st and 2nd SessionslegislatureWALLET
Change provisions relating to special needs trusts, fingerprints under the Uniform Credentialing Act, child care grants, the Title IV-D Division Customer Service Unit, eligibility for young adults in the bridge to independence program, licensed and self-funded insurers under the Medical Assistance Act, medicaid nursing facility rates, assistance to aged, blind, or disabled persons, and the state Commodity Supplemental Food program; provide for a money follows the person program for medicaid benefits, a youth afterschool eligibility letter for child care employment, use of wholesale drug distributor license fees for the prescription drug monitoring program, and maintenance of epinephrine by certain schools; change provisions of and rename the Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Support Act , the Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Advisory Council, the State Advisory Committee on Mental Health, the Division of Developmental Disabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Director of Developmental Disabilities; and eliminate provisions relating to divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care Advisory Committee on Aging, the Maternal and Child Health and Public Health Work Fund, and an obsolete Nurse Licensure Compact
Sponsored By: Health and Human Services Committee
Signed by Governor
Health and Human Services Committee
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
12 provisions identified: 10 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Stronger protections for special needs trusts
State agencies must follow federal rules for special needs trusts. They cannot demand a beneficiary’s personal information without consent. You can fund an individual account in a pooled trust with no dollar or age limit; transfers by people age 65 or older still follow federal transfer rules and may face penalties. You can fund a trust for your child at any age without a transfer penalty. You may assign any legally assignable income or resources to the trust, and no court order is needed for funding or disbursements.
Up to $10,000 for disabled children
The law directs DHHS to apply for a three‑year Medicaid waiver to run a family support program. The program provides up to $10,000 each year for long‑term services and supports for each eligible child with developmental disabilities. Parents’ income is ignored; only the child’s income and assets count. Families can self‑direct approved services. Enrollment is capped at 850 people, and the division with its advisory committee sets eligibility, services, enrollment, and quality rules.
Grants to start or grow child care
You can apply for a grant to start or improve child care or train staff. Grants are up to $10,000, and you can receive one grant only once every three years. Awards depend on community need. Grantees cannot turn away children with disabilities or children whose care is publicly funded. The department may use federal funds when allowed.
Medicaid nursing home rate floor and reports
The state budget must list the dollar amount used to set Medicaid nursing facility rates, including inflation. Average daily Medicaid nursing facility rates for future periods cannot be lower than the January 1, 2026 average, unless the Legislature directs it or during a declared emergency. By August 1 each year, the department must explain how it calculated the inflation factor. Each December, it must report any unused prior nursing‑home appropriations, including encumbrances and retroactive payments.
More earnings ignored for blind workers
When checking need for aid, the department counts income and reasonable work expenses. If you are blind, the first $85 you earn each month is ignored, plus half of what you earn above $85. With an approved plan for achieving self‑support, extra income or resources can be ignored for up to 12 months. If you are 65 or permanently and totally disabled, at least the January 1, 1972 earned‑income disregard still applies. Payments are sent directly to you by state warrant.
More young adults qualify for bridge program
Beginning after January 1, 2025, more young adults can join the Bridge to Independence program. You may qualify if you were in a court‑ordered out‑of‑home placement one day before turning 19 (or the tribal age of majority), with the placement authorized or reauthorized in the past six months and a finding that staying home was contrary to your welfare. You still must meet education, work, medical, and residency rules, and you cannot qualify if you need nursing‑facility‑level care.
Team to redesign child welfare system
The state creates a work group to design a new child welfare practice and finance model. It includes agency leaders and representatives from each federally recognized Nebraska tribe and must consult judges, providers, people with lived experience, and oversight groups. The group will develop goals, plan pilots, and give monthly updates to state leadership.
Insurers must share coverage info faster
When the department asks, licensed and self‑funded insurers must give coverage information within 30 days or show good cause. Issuers must answer requests on claims up to three years after the service date, and they cannot deny department‑submitted claims only for late filing, format, or missing point‑of‑sale documents if filed within three years and enforcement begins within six years. The law also defines key terms for coordination of benefits, including what “coverage information,” “health plan,” “licensed insurer,” and “self‑funded insurer” mean.
Planning more community living options for Medicaid members
DHHS must apply to the federal government by December 31, 2026 to operate a Money Follows the Person program. The program helps Medicaid members move from institutions into community care while keeping long‑term services. DHHS also must lead an Olmstead plan with other agencies, form an advisory group with self‑advocates, use an independent review, and report progress to the Legislature and Governor. The plan aims to provide services in the most integrated, community settings.
New child support help center in Nebraska
The child support division runs a Nebraska‑based Customer Service Unit. It provides account information and operates two toll‑free lines and a call center during business hours. Initial hiring should prefer employees of clerks of the district court. The unit must hire enough new staff to equal at least 0.25% of the local county labor force where it is located. Staff who provide State Disbursement Unit account help may work at the same site as the SDU.
Fingerprint checks for many health licenses
If you apply for an initial health‑related professional license listed in the law, you must submit fingerprints for an FBI check through the Nebraska State Patrol. You must pay the actual cost of fingerprinting and the background check. Some locum tenens applicants are exempt. Temporary physician educational permits have 90 days to comply or the permit can be suspended or revoked.
Some DHHS leader jobs become exempt
The law names several DHHS division directors as outside the State Personnel System. Agency heads may exempt more jobs up to set limits based on agency size. No employee’s current job status changes without a written agreement.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Health and Human Services Committee
Affiliation unavailable
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 42 • No: 0 • Other: 7
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 33 • No: 0 • Other: 16
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 36 • No: 0 • Other: 13
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 31 • No: 0 • Other: 18
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 31 • No: 0 • Other: 18
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0 • Other: 9
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0 • Other: 9
legislature vote • 4/24/2026
Vote
Yes: 39 • No: 0 • Other: 10
legislature vote • 4/10/2026
Final Reading
Yes: 49 • No: 0
legislature vote • 4/1/2026
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 4/1/2026
Vote
Yes: 31 • No: 0 • Other: 18
legislature vote • 4/1/2026
Vote
Yes: 33 • No: 0 • Other: 16
legislature vote • 4/1/2026
Vote
Yes: 36 • No: 0 • Other: 13
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 39 • No: 0 • Other: 10
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0 • Other: 9
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 47 • No: 0 • Other: 2
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 42 • No: 0 • Other: 7
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 38 • No: 0 • Other: 11
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 40 • No: 0 • Other: 9
legislature vote • 3/23/2026
Vote
Yes: 31 • No: 0 • Other: 18
Actions Timeline
Presented to Governor on April 10, 2026
4/17/2026legislatureApproved by Governor on April 14, 2026
4/17/2026legislatureDispensing of reading at large approved
4/10/2026legislaturePassed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 49-0-0
4/10/2026legislaturePresident/Speaker signed
4/10/2026legislaturePlaced on Final Reading with ST83
4/7/2026legislatureEnrollment and Review ST83 filed
4/7/2026legislatureEnrollment and Review ST83 recorded
4/7/2026legislatureDeBoer AM3044 filed
4/1/2026legislatureEnrollment and Review ER165 adopted
4/1/2026legislatureKauth FA507 withdrawn
4/1/2026legislatureHardin AM2972 adopted
4/1/2026legislatureBallard AM2970 adopted
4/1/2026legislatureBallard AM3023 withdrawn
4/1/2026legislatureDeBoer FA1140 to AM3044 filed
4/1/2026legislatureDeBoer FA1140 adopted
4/1/2026legislatureDeBoer AM3044 adopted
4/1/2026legislatureAdvanced to Enrollment and Review for Engrossment
4/1/2026legislatureBallard AM2970 filed
3/31/2026legislatureBallard AM3023 filed
3/31/2026legislaturePlaced on Select File with ER165
3/30/2026legislatureEnrollment and Review ER165 filed
3/30/2026legislatureHardin AM2972 filed
3/30/2026legislatureMcKinney MO490 pending
3/23/2026legislatureMcKinney MO490 withdrawn
3/23/2026legislature
Bill Text
Introduced
4/17/2026
Enrolled / Slip Law
Final / Enacted