LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Monday that coronavirus vaccinations will be provided free to all Nebraskans when a vaccine is available.
That includes people who are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private health insurance or who have no insurance, he said.
State health officials joined the governor last week to unveil a plan for distributing the vaccine. At the time, they said the vaccine itself would be free, but they did not have an answer about the cost for administering the vaccine.
At a press conference Monday, Ricketts said people will not have to pay any costs associated with getting the vaccine, including any co-pays or deductibles that would normally be required.
The governor also announced plans to help nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities cover the added costs of dealing with the pandemic.
Interim Medicaid Director Jeremy Brunssen said Nebraska is seeking federal approval to boost Medicaid payments by $20 per day. That works out to about a 10% increase on average. The increase would be retroactive to May 1 and, based on current plans, would end on Dec. 31.
He said the increase would mean about $40 million more for long-term-care facilities, of which about $15 million would come from state funds and the rest from the federal government. Ricketts said the state portion can be managed within the existing Medicaid budget.
Heath Boddy, president and CEO of the Nebraska Health Care Association, said the money will be “lifesaving” for some facilities. He said the money will help pay for such things as recruiting employees, giving incentives to workers and paying for supplies.
Despite the pandemic, nursing homes are in a better situation financially than they have been in recent years. Brunssen said the state budget appropriation allowed for Medicaid payment rates to come closer to costs than had been the case.
As of Sunday, 1,774 residents of long-term-care facilities and 1,832 employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Nursing home residents have accounted for 238 of the state’s 654 deaths, or about 36% of the total.
Cases among staff or residents have touched 312 of Nebraska’s 496 long-term-care facilities.
Boddy and Jenifer Acierno, CEO of Leading Age Nebraska, urged Nebraskans to follow social distancing guidelines and wear masks to help keep the virus from spreading in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Community levels of the virus affect the likelihood of employees getting the virus and bringing it to work with them.
“What we have learned is that your behavior as a community drastically affects our ability to keep the virus out,” he said.
Under the state’s vaccine distribution plan, health care workers will be first in line to be vaccinated. Vulnerable people, including nursing home and assisted living residents, along with other essential workers, would get the next spots in line. Vaccinations would be provided to the general public only after the state has plenty of vaccine available.
Federal officials have said a vaccine may be ready yet this year, possibly by late November.
More than 150 coronavirus vaccines are in development across the world, and multiple vaccine candidates have gotten to the third phase of trials, meaning that they are being tried in a broad range of people over a period of time to see if they are safe and effective.
The governor signed an executive order last week allowing members of public boards to participate in meetings electronically if they are required to quarantine or isolate because of exposure to COVID-19. The order allows members joining remotely to count toward a quorum and to vote. Ricketts said some boards have had difficulty holding required meetings because of COVID-related absences.