Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) on Wednesday said he remains opposed to efforts to restore state-funded prenatal services to about 1,600 low-income Nebraska women, including about 870 undocumented immigrants, because he does not support providing state benefits to undocumented immigrants, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The latest proposal, crafted by Sen. Brad Ashford, would have used private funds from an anonymous donor to fund the coverage. State lawmakers said they might not have had enough votes to pass the measure even if the governor had agreed to support it (Jenkins, AP/Atlanta Journal Constitution, 3/24).
Nebraska previously provided prenatal care to women through Medicaid, regardless of immigration status, under the rationale that their children would be natural-born U.S. citizens and therefore eligible for Medicaid. However, the federal government recently informed Nebraska that it must cease providing such care to undocumented immigrants through Medicaid because doing so violates federal rules. The federal government allows documented immigrants to receive prenatal care through Medicaid, but undocumented immigrants are barred from the program (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/24).
Heineman said Wednesday, "I have repeatedly said that I support prenatal care for legal residents," adding, "I do not support providing state-funded benefits for illegal individuals."
In recent weeks, opposition from Heineman and others has led to the demise of a bill (LB 1110) that would have created a separate program for low-income women to receive prenatal care regardless of immigration status and a compromise effort that would have restored coverage for a year to the estimated 1,600 women who lost it. Ashford said the options for passing any measure are "very slim right now."
Ashford and other state senators reprised the effort because they said doctors had reported that some low-income women said they would have abortions because they could not afford prenatal care. Although other lawmakers disputed the reports, the claims forced many lawmakers to choose between their opposition to providing benefits to undocumented immigrants and their opposition to abortion rights, according to the AP/Journal-Constitution (AP/Atlanta Journal Constitution, 3/24).
