Hundreds of thousands of Nebraskans who have a mental illness face losing health care coverage or much higher premiums if Congress elects not to extend Biden-era Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies.
Mental health services are already at a premium in the state.
Vaishu Jawahar, director of policy programs with Protect Our Care, said at least 600 hospitals nationwide are at risk of closing due to historic Medicaid cuts earlier this year, and the pending elimination of health insurance subsidies is affecting Americans’ ability to afford basic coverage.
“Open enrollment has been happening since Nov. 15 and working families are logging on to healthcare.gov, and they’re seeing that their premiums have doubled or tripled if they were going to stay on the same plan,” said Jawahar. “The average American is going to see their premiums increase by $1,000 annually.”
In Nebraska, drastic cuts to Medicaid and elimination of marketplace subsidies will have a direct impact on people’s ability to afford mental health care services, with demand increasing.
The Trump administration says it is working to reduce waste and fraud in social service and insurance programs.
Jessica Schubel, a former special health care adviser to President Joe Biden, said that Nebraskans, who are already facing higher energy and grocery prices, can be placed in a dangerous and untenable position when it comes to seeking mental health care.
“So, when you add higher health care costs to the mix, what are folks going to do? It’s death by a thousand cuts,” Schubel. “People are going to go without. they are going to roll the dice and hope they don’t get sick, break an arm or get into an accident.”
Beyond medical insurance, the National Alliance on Mental Heath reports at least 375,000 Nebraskans live with a diagnosed mental illness, and pending subsidy cuts will limit their ability to seek help.
