Sen. Roy Baker reads from prepared notes during Initiative 427 public hearing at the Capitol.

A public hearing at the Capitol gave a chance for those both for and against Medicaid expansion to weigh in the ballot measure.

Around 60 people attended the hearing at the state Capitol in Lincoln last night hosted by Secretary of State John Gale. State law calls for public hearings to be held in initiative petitions appearing on the ballot.

Both proponents and opponents got a chance to have their say.

Sen. Roy Baker of Lincoln presented the opening statement in favor of expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which appears as Initiative 427 on the November ballot. He pointed out it is estimated Medicaid expansion would cover 90,000 low-income Nebraskans now without health insurance.

“These are moms and dads who need to stay healthy to take care of their families,” Baker stated. “These are our neighbors, who you see at your kid’s Little League games. These are people who work one or more jobs, trying to pull their families out of poverty.”

Baker also argued the state would benefit economically from the influx of federal funds which would flow to the state once it expands Medicaid. Under the ACA, the federal government pays 90% of the cost of Medicaid expansion, an estimated $600 million a year.

Jessica Shelburn with Americans for Prosperity speaks during the public hearing.

But, Jessica Shelburn with Americans for Prosperity warned Medicaid expansion hasn’t gone as planned in the 33 states which implemented it.

“Every state that has expanded Medicaid has seen enrollment increase by almost 90% more than what they had anticipated,” according to Shelburn.

Shelburn stated though federal funds are promised, state government must still have to pay upfront costs.

It is estimated Medicaid expansion would cost $148.3 million over a three-year period. Nebraska is expected to receive $1.359 billion in federal funding over that three-year period.

After the formal presentations, those attending got their chance to weigh in on the issue.

Amanda Gershon of Lincoln said she became ill at a young age, becoming permanently disabled by the age of 33. She has recovered, but medical bills mounted and after totaling $60,000, she declared bankruptcy.

“Medicaid expansion will help reduce bankruptcies like mine due to medical debt,” Gershon said. “It will keep people working longer, keep them off of disability. Initiative 427 will help hard-working Nebraskans be able to take care of their health.”

Yet, Richard Ott of Omaha said Medicaid should not be expanded to cover able-bodied individuals.

“The working people have just put too much out and not getting near enough back,” according to Ott. “Why should we have to always give up for somebody that’s is too lazy to get out there hold a job down and do what it takes to work?”

Chip Smith of Omaha expressed disbelief in the estimate that expansion would cover 90,000 Nebraskans.

“Don’t be surprised when all the estimated numbers are wrong,” Smith said. “By then, it’s too late. People will leave Nebraska looking for other states with lower tax rates and decreasing tax revenues even further.”

But, Kathy Ward, a volunteer for AARP Nebraska said the experience of the 33 states which have expanded Medicaid demonstrated improved health for residence who live in those states.

“Evidence from other expansion states indicates greater use of preventive services, increased treatment for chronic conditions, and improvements in self-reported health,” according to Ward.

President of the Lincoln Education Association, Rita Bennett, said expansion would lead to healthier school children.

“There’s a false narrative being circulated by opponents of healthcare expansion,” Bennet stated. “The argument is that measure 427 would take away from funding for our schools and education system. We do not believe this is the case. In fact, federal funding for Medicaid expansion never dips below 90%.”

Steven Johnson of Ralston said expansion might appear like a good idea, but it doesn’t resolve health care problems.

“We have these feelings in our heart that we wish to help each other, but we also have how are we going to pay for it?” Johnson said. “But, more importantly, how are we going to solve the problem? That’s really what we’re here to do is solve the problem.”

A public hearing on the issue was held earlier in Omaha. A third public hearing is scheduled for Grand Island on the 30th at the College Park of Grand Island Theater Room. It is scheduled to begin at 6pm.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]

Gov. Pete Ricketts with Lt. Gov. Mike Foley

Gov. Pete Ricketts rejects the two top criticisms his opponent levels against him.

This is the conclusion of our two-part series about the governor’s re-election campaign.

State Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, the Democratic candidate for governor, charges Gov. Ricketts, the Republican incumbent, doesn’t listen to Nebraskans.

“Couldn’t be further from the truth,” Ricketts tells Nebraska Radio Network in an interview. “I have done over 140 town halls, Rotary Clubs or Optimist Clubs. I travel the state all the time, talking to Nebraskans.”

Ricketts says he listens to Nebraskans during those trips across the state. And, the governor says he listens to legislators, citing such bills the Transportation Innovation Act and various tax bills. Ricketts says he has even reached across the political aisle, working with Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln on anti-sex trafficking legislation and Sen. Sara Howard of Omaha on legislation to curb opioid abuse as well as others.

Also, Ricketts rejects Krist’s criticism that he takes a “My way or the highway” mentality.

“I’ll take this last property tax bill as an example of how that is just not true,” Ricketts responds. “If you look at all the property tax bills that were introduced this year, earlier this year in the session, my bill was the one that actually moved the most. It changed the most. We went through several iterations of that bill. It changed quite a few times.”

Ricketts attempted to craft a bill which would appeal both to rural and urban state senators. The final version failed to attract the votes necessary to break a filibuster.

Ricketts has used “grow Nebraska” as the theme for his administration. He says the phrase unfolds in four broad areas: developing the skills of Nebraskans, making Nebraska easy to do business with, managing the state budget while cutting taxes, and promoting Nebraska abroad. The governor says those can create an environment in which the residents of the state can enjoy the good life that is Nebraska.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:50]

Gov. Pete Ricketts

Governor Pete Ricketts says he wants a second term to complete the work which he began nearly four years ago.

Ricketts, a Republican, is running for re-election.

“We have accomplished a lot in the last three-and-a-half, plus years,” Ricketts tells Nebraska Radio Network in an interview on his re-election campaign. “We’ve got a great team who have made improvements in all of our agencies. But we’ve still got more work to do.”

This is the first of a two-part series.

Ricketts says his administration has changed the culture of state government into one of continuous improvement. He points to the Department of Health and Human Services, which has adopted a business plan to improve the time calls are answered by ACCESS Nebraska as well as place more children in foster or adoptive homes to reduce the number of children who are wards of the state.

As far as the top issue for this gubernatorial campaign, it remains property tax relief, according to Ricketts.

Ricketts has been unable to push his plan to mix property and income tax relief through the legislature, falling to filibusters. Ricketts says he believes he has the right idea but must work to convince enough lawmakers to meet the threshold of 33 out of 49 votes to break a filibuster.

An idea floated during the last legislation session is flatly reject by Ricketts: increasing the state sales tax to reduce the property tax burden.

“It doesn’t actually reduce taxes,” Ricketts says. “We have to actually reduce taxes. You can’t raise taxes to lower taxes. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Ricketts still favors a combination package which would ease the property tax burden while also lowering income taxes. Ricketts argues high corporate and personal income taxes have made Nebraska less competitive with its neighboring states.

Crowded prisons remains a priority. State prisons stand at 155% of designed capacity.

The governor holds out hope a legislative package approved in the past designed to reduce the prison population will make enough progress to keep from triggering a state emergency which could get the courts involved in reducing prison populations.

Ricketts says his administration has moved to ease overcrowding, noting the legislature approved his request for $117 million to increase space for beds as well as inmate programs.

“Ninety-three percent of our inmates are going to leave our system; make sure they’re prepared to leave,” Ricketts says. “Make sure they’ve got the programming or the education or the job training, so when they leave they can get that job, integrate back into society.”

NOTE: An earlier version incorrectly reported Gov. Ricketts was requesting $117 million for prison beds and programs. The request has already been made and approved by the Unicameral. We regret the error.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:50]

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb addresses reporters during the Capitol news conference

Nebraska Democrats say state Auditor Charlie Janssen should resign after acknowledging spending little time in the office and long lunches at a Lincoln sports bar.

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb tells reporters during a Capitol news conference Auditor Janssen should step down and rebate the portion of his salary he wasted in a bar.

“It is offensive that he then stands in front of a banner at Husker Harvest Days, saying for people to call in and email any waste, fraud, and abuse and he is the poster child of waste, fraud, and abuse,” Kleeb says.

The Omaha World-Herald reported on September 14th that Janssen often spends more of his workday at a Lincoln sports bar than at his Capitol office. A three-month investigation by the newspaper found a pattern of arriving late to work, then leaving for lunch breaks which could last for three hours, often drinking beer with friends.

“In the past month, over the course of 20 working days, the newspaper observed the state auditor 10 times spending lengthy lunches at Brewsky’s, a popular sports bar about 15 blocks south of the State Capitol,” the newspaper reported.

Janssen, a Republican, is up for re-election after winning the state Auditor’s race four years ago. He is paid a $85,000 annual salary.

Janssen acknowledged the report was true in a written statement.

“I apologize to the citizens of Nebraska for some of my choices, and effective immediately I am taking steps to make changes in my personal and professional life,” Janssen said in the statement.

Janssen asked that citizens view the total body of work of his office since he became Auditor, noting the office had come under budget each year and the office had “uncovered numerous cases of fraud and abuse, saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year.”

Democratic Auditor candidate Jane Skinner speaks at the news conference

The statement holds no sway with Democrat Jane Skinner, who is running against Janssen in November. Skinner acknowledges the Auditor’s office has done good work.

“I think he has a great staff who does great work, but him as an auditor? I’m not impressed,” Skinner tells reporters at the news conference.

Democrats fault Gov. Pete Ricketts for not demanding Janssen resign. Ricketts says he talked with Janssen after the Omaha World-Herald broke the story.

“Well, what Charlie did was wrong,” Ricketts tells reporters after an event at the Capitol. “In the conversation that I had with him, he acknowledged it was wrong and said he was going to make changes with regard to his work ethic and how he was going to be at the office and that’s what we’re waiting to see.”

Ricketts says it is up to Nebraska voters to decide Janssen’s political fate.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:50]

U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse

United States Senator Ben Sasse sparked a lot of talk when he told national media last weekend he thinks about leaving the Republican Party daily.

Sasse claims surprise about the stir his comments raised.

“My criticism of these two parties is more than a monthly occurrence over the last three years and why it got a little extra attention this weekend I’m not really sure,” Sasse tells Nebraska Radio Network in a phone interview from Washington, D.C.

It started with a Tweet.

Sasse, in a reply, stated he regularly considers leaving the Republican Party.

It continued with an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union when anchor Jake Tapper asked Sasse about the Tweet. Sasse replied he probably thinks about it every morning when he wakes up and asked himself why is he flying away from Nebraska and going to D.C.?

The YouTube video of the interview has registered more than 200,000 views.

Sasse calls himself an independent conservative who caucuses with Republicans.

When asked if he is considering leaving the Republican Party, Sasse shifts to talk of reform.

“I have said, going back 2 ½ years, that the party of Lincoln needs to go through an exercise and figure out what it’s for,” Sasse says.

Sasse criticizes both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party for lacking vision. He says they both focus too much on the short term and do not think long-term. Sasse says the Democratic Party has become a party of identity politics and group grievances. He says Republicans now are using similar language, trying to be a backlash of the Democrats’ politics.

Sasse says he and his wife are committed to serving in the United States Senate without regard to whether he plans to run for re-election in 2020. He says he plans to speak to Nebraska voters about his future next year.

Though not directly answering the question of whether he is considering leaving the Republican Party, Sasse does say he is committed to the party of Lincoln and Reagan.

“In the long term, this party needs to reform itself and I’m committed to working toward that end.”

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]

Supporters of Medicaid expansion can concentrate on the campaign now that the legal issues have be cleared away.

The State Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to knock Medicaid expansion off the ballot.

Insure the Good Life campaign manager Meg Mandy says it’s a familiar issue since the Unicameral has debated it every year since passage of the Affordable Care Act.

“But because there’s six years of news coverage on this, it’s something that people are really familiar with and that’s what we found when we were collecting signatures is that it didn’t require a lot of explanation, because health care for working people seems obvious,” Mandy tells Nebraska Radio Network.

Legislators have rejected efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, prompting supporters to take the issue directly to the voters. It is estimated that approximately 90,000 low-income Nebraskans would qualify. Supporters also contend it would stimulate the state economy by drawing down federal funding to pay 90% of expansion.

Mandy says voters will do what the Unicameral has refused to do.

“So, I think that this is an issue that the legislature has unfortunately politicized and been out of touch with people on and I think that voters will show that this is something we have wanted for the past six years and we’re going to vote ‘Yes’ on it in November,” Mandy says.

Insure the Good Life gathered more than enough signatures of registered voters to qualify for ballot status in November. They submitted nearly 140,000 signatures. Secretary of State John Gale confirmed 105,000 of the signatures were valid, well above the threshold required by state law.

State Sen. Lydia Brash and former state Sen. Mark Christensen filed a lawsuit, claiming the initiative petition violated the Nebraska Constitution by containing more than one subject and by failing to disclose Nebraska Appleseed as a sponsor.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]