Insure The Good Life is a ballot initiative aimed at letting Nebraska voters decide whether the state should expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act – joining 32 other states and the District of Columbia.
They estimate this would mean health-care coverage for an additional 90,000 uninsured Nebraskans.
Included among the 16 organizations backing this initiative are: Nebraska Hospital Association, Health Care Association of Nebraska, National Council of Jewish Women-Nebraska, Nebraska Appleseed, and Voices for Children in Nebraska.
Aubrey Mancuso, Executive Director of Voices for Children in Nebraska, says research shows that when parents lack insurance their children are affected.
“When caregivers don’t have access to health care, there can be physical and mental health issues that impede their ability to work and their ability to care for their kids. So, even though this isn’t a direct insurance program for kids, there is a significant impact on kids because kids live in families, and their parents needs to be be healthy in order to work and to take care of them.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently reviewed the research available on Medicaid expansion under the ACA and concludes its impact has been positive in a number of areas, including:
- greater access to care and financial security among low-income populations.
- better economic outcomes, including state budgets.
- lower uncompensated care costs for hospitals and clinics, and
- employment and the labor market.
Insure the Good Life volunteers will soon be out state-wide seeking the 85,000 signatures needed by July 6th.
For more information, the website is Insurethegoodlife.com, or find it on Facebook.