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Committee hears technical fix to Medicaid third‑party rules aimed at recouping payments
Summary
Lawmakers and DHHS urged support for LB1144, a bill that updates Nebraska's Medicaid coordination‑of‑benefits and third‑party liability rules to match federal law and reduce administrative obstacles to recouping payments; insurers asked for more electronic data exchange to reduce paper volume.
Chair Senator Brian Hardin opened LB1144, a housekeeping bill that director Drew Gonshorowski said would align state law with current federal rules on third‑party liability. "This bill works in two ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Medicaid operations," Gonshorowski testified, explaining an expanded definition of health plan and an extended period for the state to recoup medical claims when third‑party coverage should have paid first.
Gonshorowski told the committee the bill will remove administrative hurdles that impede collection of funds, allow the state to respond to third parties within a clarified period and protect taxpayer dollars without affecting beneficiaries' access to services. The Nebraska Insurance Federation testified neutrally and noted insurers receive large paper volumes of coordination requests; federation counsel Robert Bell urged DHHS and insurers to accelerate electronic verification to reduce time and error.
Committee members asked whether the bill would affect recipients; Gonshorowski replied it should not — the changes are targeted at coordination rules and administrative processes rather than changing coverage or shifting costs onto beneficiaries.
There was no recorded vote during the hearing; the department asked the committee to advance the bill to general file.
