LINCOLN — Lawmakers advanced a proposal Monday designed to help new mothers and newborns shortly after birth through postpartum at-home nurse visitations.

Legislative Bill 22, from State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, expands on his Nebraska Prenatal Plus Program enacted in 2024, which provides multiple supports for at-risk, low-income families for “healthy moms and healthy babies.”

His new bill would require Medicaid to cover home nurse visits for postpartum mothers and their newborns up to 6 months old.

The bill seeks to expand an existing program known as “Family Connects” in Lincoln and Lancaster Counties statewide. There is a pilot program beginning in Douglas County as well, with services that mothers could access, if they choose, including:

• Head-to-toe health assessment for baby.
• Postpartum health assessment for mom.
• Breastfeeding support.
• Education and guidance about relevant topics and needs.
• Assistance with connecting to a medical home or scheduling routine care visits.
• Connections to community services and resources.

Dungan said Family Connects leads to a 480% return on every dollar spent on it, or $4.80, which he described as a huge cost savings.

The long-term goal is such services statewide, particularly in rural Nebraska.

“This is a volunteer program with remarkable outcomes for mother and baby,” Dungan said.

Dungan’s bill, as introduced, would have applied to postpartum mothers and newborns enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as infants up to 3 years old.

The bill was narrowed in efforts to reduce the annual cost to about $120,000 for the state, with the rest coming from the federal government. Dungan said he would amend his bill during the second round of debate to clarify that the bill intends to use excess Medicaid funds to cover the program alone, not new tax dollars.

State Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, whose reproductive-focused nonprofit I Be Black Girl similarly helps new Nebraska mothers and newborns, noted that most infant deaths globally happen in the first year of life. Many deaths, she said, are preventable.

“The work that we’re talking about in investing in access to care, having that support for that parent and that newborn is vitally important,” Spivey said.

She said the Legislature should prioritize the types of programs Dungan put forward. Spivey cautioned that some home visitation pilots aren’t always successful for communities of color because the nurses don’t match the identities of their patients or have the lived experiences of the people they’re serving.

State Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, who helped Dungan get his Prenatal Plus Program over the finish line in 2024, again supported his efforts this time around. She said every time a mother comes home from the hospital with a newborn, there are lots of unanswered questions.

“Having someone who’s going to come to your home, provide that support, it really does make a difference for those families and the success of the children that are growing in these homes,” she said.

Bosn predicted the return on investment could be more than the 480% estimated.

“It’s very rare, colleagues, that we have issues that we all agree on when it comes to some of these things,” Dungan said. “But I really do think that when we’re talking about having healthy moms and healthy babies, it’s something we can all support.”

The bill advanced 43-0.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/bill-advances-to-expand-postpartum-a...