News on Nebraska

New report: Neb.'s Medicaid costs overestimated

2010-09-16T10:45:20Z

New estimate challenges report that health care reform will see Neb. Medicaid costs soar

A report commissioned by the state forecasting that federal health care reform will increase the state's Medicaid costs by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade was based on "an over-the-top assumption" and seriously flawed, a Medicaid expert said.

The predictio...

Cornhusker Kickback gets the boot in health bill

2010-03-18T17:30:30Z

Nebraska's Cornhusker Kickback gets the boot, while TN, ND make hay in revised health bill

Bye bye, Cornhusker Kickback. Hello, special treatment for Tennessee and North Dakota.

Democrats unveiling revisions Thursday to their health care overhaul bill decided to kill the extra $100 million in Medicaid funds...

Nelson seeks deletion of Nebraska Medicaid deal

2010-04-16T07:36:40Z

Sen. Ben Nelson asks for controversial Nebraska Medicaid deal to be withdrawn

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is asking Senate leaders to eliminate a controversial Medicaid deal for his state in the health care bill.

The moderate Democrat, who provided the crucial 60th vote for the Senate health care bill, has been c...

White House Breaks Open State Piggy Banks for Reform

2010-10-06T00:30:51Z

Congressional wheeling and dealing has always been the way to get things done in D.C. Symbolic back scratches, Filibuster IOUs, Bridges to Nowhere --- they all have their political roots in closed-door chats between Senators, usually just ahead of a major vote.

The latest quid pro quo by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson will fill his home state?s piggy bank with enough Medicaid money to fund his state?s portion of the estimated $35 billion cost of healthcare reform. Nelson had threatened to...

Fifteen states may sue over healthcare reform

2010-06-25T18:56:46Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a dozen U.S. state attorneys general visited Washington on Wednesday threatening to sue the U.S. government if the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback," a special subsidy offered to Nebraska, is included in pen1ding healthcare ref...

White House discussing healthcare help for states: Gibbs

2010-04-16T07:43:57Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is discussing ways to help U.S. states cover costs that are destined to rise under pending healthcare reform legislation, his press secretary said on Monday.

Many governors had protested a special funding allocation for Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger criticizes vote buying in Democratic health care bill

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says concessions made to Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson to win his vote on the health care overhaul bill were a "rip-off" for his state and is urging California lawmakers to...

Nelson says he wants Medicaid deal for all states

2010-04-16T07:50:19Z

Sen. Nelson says he wants Medicaid deal for all states, won't stand for special Nebraska deal

Sen. Ben Nelson said Thursday he has asked Democratic leadership to extend to all states the extra Medicaid funding promised to Nebraska in the health care reform bill.

The Democrat wouldn't say who he has spoken to rega...

Top SC prosecutor, others probing health care deal

2010-06-25T19:12:05Z

SC attorney general, counterparts, scrutinize dealmaking on US Senate health care legislation

The top prosecutors in seven states are probing the constitutionality of a political deal that cut a funding break for Nebraska in order to pass a federal health care reform bill, South Carolina's attorney genera...

Quote of the day/week, from Ben Nelson

2010-04-22T12:56:43Z

It must go to Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, the last holdout on Obamacare.

From National Review:

The highest-profile Democratic hold-out on Obamacare, Nelson said last week,

Concessions lawmakers won in the health bill

2010-10-27T14:28:31Z

A look at concessions lawmakers and interest groups won in the Senate's health care bill
Here's a look at some of the concessions lawmakers and interest groups won in the latest version of the Senate's health care overhaul bill:
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LAWMAKERS:
SEN. BEN NELSON, D-NEB., who provided the critical 60th vote that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ne...

Neb. insurers benefit from Nelson's compromise

2010-06-25T19:14:10Z

Nebraska — never seen as a key player with special needs in the health care debate — stands to reap millions of dollars worth of financial goodies should the Senate version of the health care bill get final approval.
Not only did Sen. Ben Nelson help cut a deal that covers the state's Medicare expansion cost of $100 million over 10 years — all other stat...

Who wins, who loses in Senate health bill

2010-04-16T08:13:56Z

The little town of Libby, Mont., isn't mentioned by name in the Senate's mammoth health care bill, but its 2,900 citizens are big winners in the legislation, thanks to the influence of Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
After pushing for years for help for residents, many of whom suffer from asbestos-related illnesses from a now-closed mineral mining operation, Baucus inser...

Senate roll vote on GOP effort to restore cuts

2010-04-16T08:39:36Z

The 57-41 roll call Friday by which the Senate turned back a Republican effort to restore $120 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage, the private insurance plans within Medicare that provides seniors with better benefits than the traditional program.
A "yes" vote is a vote to the .
Voting yes were 2 Nebraska is investigating the cause of a small fire in an operating room that burned a patient.
Chief medical officer Steve Smith said Wednesday that the Feb. 3 fire at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha is believed to have started when an electrical c...

Builder Sentiment

2010-12-15T08:37:04Z
In this Nov. 30, 2010 photo, a contractor carries heating ducts to a house under construction in Gretna, Neb. The National Association of Home Builders said Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, its housing market index held steady in December, with many respondents feeling uncertain about the prospect for improved home sales in the near future. (AP Photo/...

Winter Weather

2010-12-12T08:31:46Z
A shopper walks back to her car amid blowing snow, in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. A winter storm combined low temperatures and blowing winds to created hazardous white-out conditions and brought the wind chill factor down to -20 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Copyright 2010 AP News

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Winter Storm Midwest

2010-12-11T23:31:00Z
A shopper walks in the parking lot of a store amid blowing snow, in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. A winter storm combined low temperatures and blowing winds to created hazardous white-out conditions and brought the wind chill factor down to -20 degrees. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Copyright 2010 AP News

Construction Spending

2010-12-01T07:32:47Z
A contractor carries heating ducts to a house under construction in Gretna, Neb., Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. Construction spending rose in October for the second straight month as residential building gains.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Copyright 2010 AP News

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Gang Arrests

2010-11-18T18:31:02Z
Weysan Dun, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Omaha Office, announces at a news conference in Grand Island, Neb., Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, that federal and state officials have arrested 12 people and are ...