Nebraska is one of 19 states that has not expanded Medicaid. The people who are most affected by this state government's decision to not expand Medicaid are the folks who fall into the “coverage gap.”
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 American Community Survey estimates that there are about 201,000 Nebraskans without health insurance, of which 118,000 are employed. Medicaid expansion covers those uninsured Nebraskans who fall into the “coverage gap.”
A very large number of Nebraskans without access to health care work in jobs that either do not offer insurance benefits or do not pay enough to allow workers to access insurance on their own. Not only will Medicaid expansion provide access to health care for the working poor but it will also boost the local economy by creating jobs and generate more state and local tax revenue.
