Nebraska cancer patient says he was told he lost Medicaid coverage

Eli McCreary, an Omaha man recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, said a CHI Health hospital told him his Medicaid coverage had ended and that it would cancel appointments unless he paid out of pocket. He said a call-center representative told him he had not met the work requirement. McCreary said he canceled a CT scan and other tests and delayed a cancer-related appointment.

Nebraska began enforcing the requirements May 1, ahead of most states. About 70,000 adult Medicaid recipients are subject to the rules and must document work or a similar qualifying activity for 80 hours a month unless they qualify for an exemption. State officials said 93% of existing enrollees kept coverage, while 86% of affected applicants met the requirement or qualified for an exclusion. Advocates reported confusion and inaccurate information. State data showed average call-center waits rose from about 13 minutes in May to 26 minutes in July.

Democrats said they plan to seek repeal in their first 100 hours in office in January, but the reports said the effort’s prospects were uncertain because President Trump could veto the measure.