Medicaid postpartum home visitation program considered

A bill that seeks to connect postpartum mothers and infants enrolled in Medicaid with in-home support services was considered by the Health and Human Services Committee Jan. 23.

LB22, introduced by Lincoln Sen. George Dungan, would implement targeted case management for evidence-based nurse home visiting services. The program would serve postpartum mothers and infants younger than three who are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Under the bill, the state Department of Health and Human Services would be required to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by Oct. 1, 2025, to allow nurse home visiting programs to bill Medicaid directly for services provided.

The bill also states legislative intent to use the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund for any remaining costs not covered by federal funds.

Dungan said his proposal is modeled on a program currently operated by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department called Family Connects. A recent appropriation from the Legislature also funded a version of nurse home visiting as a pilot program in Douglas County, he said.

Dungan said authorization from Medicaid to reimburse providers for evidence-based nurse home visiting would allow such services to be available to families statewide.

“Nurse home visitors form trusting relationships with mothers and families to help them during an important time after their baby is born,” he said. “All mothers in the state should be offered this important service.”

Kerry Kernen, health director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, spoke in support of the measure. Since the launch of the Family Connects program, she said, there have been approximately 925 postpartum visits completed — which include health assessments, breastfeeding support and referrals to community resources.

Kernen also cited research that indicates nurse home visits are linked to reductions in infant hospital and emergency department visits, postpartum anxiety and child protective service investigations.

“[Family Connect has] been found to improve parents’ mental health, enhance the quality of home environments, reduce infants’ emergency medical care and increase parents’ utilization of higher quality child care for their children,” she said.

Testifying in favor of LB22, Kaitlyn Lickei shared her experience with home visitation after giving birth to her first child. She said the services provided are lifelines for postpartum mothers and infants.

“[The nurse] helped us navigate newborn care, answered our questions about feeding and sleep and offered resources for my family’s well-being,” Lickei said. “This experience was invaluable to us at the time.”

No one testified in opposition to LB22 and the committee took no immediate action.