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Nebraska Health Insurance Consumer Guide
This guide was developed to help you understand the coverage options and potential financial assistance available to you and your family in Nebraska.
Nebraska uses the federally run health insurance exchange HealthCare.gov for residents to purchase its ACA Marketplace plans. Depending on your income and other circumstances, you may also get help to lower your monthly insurance premium and possibly your out-of-pocket expenses.
The Marketplace provides access to health insurance products from private insurers. The federal government helps pay for insurance through an advance premium tax credit if you buy coverage through the exchange.
Explore our other comprehensive guides to coverage in Nebraska
Dental coverage in Nebraska
In 2023, Nebraska's health insurance Marketplace has certified individual and family dental plans from four insurers.1
Nebraska’s Medicaid program
Nebraska implemented the ACA Medicaid expansion in August 2020. As of 2023, 396,269 people were enrolled in the Nebraska Medicaid program – the Heritage Health Adult Program.2
Medicare coverage and enrollment in Nebraska
More than 372,000 residents were enrolled in Medicare in Nebraska as of May 2023.3 Our Medicare guide explains what you need to know about the various parts of Medicare, as well as Nebraska’s regulations pertaining to Medicaid availability.
Short-term coverage in Nebraska
As of 2023, there were at least seven insurers selling short-term health insurance plans in Nebraska.4
Frequently asked questions about health insurance in Nebraska
Who can buy Marketplace health insurance?
To qualify for health coverage through the Nebraska Marketplace, you must:
- Live in Nebraska
- Be lawfully present in the United States
- Not be incarcerated
- Not be enrolled in Medicare
Eligibility for financial assistance in the form of premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions depends on your income and how it compares with the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area – which depends on your age and location.
In addition, to qualify for financial assistance with your Marketplace plan you must:5
- Not have access to health coverage through your employer that’s deemed affordable. If your employer offers coverage but you feel it’s too expensive, you can use our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator to see if you might qualify for premium subsidies in the Marketplace.
- Not be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
When can I enroll in an ACA-compliant plan in Nebraska?
In Nebraska the open enrollment period for individual/family health coverage runs from November 1 through January 15.6
If you need your coverage to start on January 1, you must apply by December 15. If you apply between December 16 and January 15, your coverage will begin on February 1.5
Outside of the annual open enrollment period, you may still be able to enroll or make a plan change if you experience a qualifying life event, such as giving birth or losing other health coverage.
How do I enroll in a Nebraska Marketplace plan?
To enroll in an ACA Marketplace plan in Nebraska, you can:
- Visit HealthCare.gov to compare the health plans that are available in your area, determine whether you’re eligible for financial assistance, and enroll in coverage during open enrollment or during a special enrollment period.
- Purchase individual and family health coverage with the help of an insurance agent or broker, a Navigator or certified application counselor, or an approved enhanced direct enrollment entity.7
You can also call HealthCare.gov’s contact center by dialing 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). The call center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but it’s closed on holidays.
How can I find affordable health insurance in Nebraska?
More than 94% of Nebraska Marketplace enrollees saved money on 2023 premium payments amounting to an average savings of $560/month. With subsidies, enrollees paid an average of $104 per month for health coverage.8
The Affordable Care Act provides income-based advance premium tax credits (subsidies) that offset your premium payments to help keep your expenses down. People with household incomes below 250%of the federal poverty level also qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) that may reduce your deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses when you buy a Silver plan. Between the premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, you may find that an ACA plan is the cheapest health insurance option for you.
Source: CMS.gov9
How many insurers offer Marketplace coverage in Nebraska?
Are Marketplace health insurance premiums increasing in Nebraska?
Health insurance companies in Nebraska’s individual market have proposed the following rate changes for 2024:10
Nebraska’s ACA Marketplace Plan 2024 Proposed Rate Increases by Insurance Company |
|
|---|---|
| Issuer | Percent Increase |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska | 5.67% |
| Medica | 6.74% |
| Ambetter from Nebraska Total Care | 2.50% |
| Oscar Health | -3.40% |
Source: HealthCare.gov10
How many people are insured through Nebraska’s Marketplace?
In Nebraska, 101,490 people enrolled in health plans through the state’s ACA Marketplace exchange for 2023 coverage.8
The state has seen a sharp increase in enrollment since 2021, driven in part by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) making ACA’s premium subsidies more substantial. Under the ARP – now extended by the Inflation Reduction Act – subsidies are more significant and accessible through the end of 2025.12
Source: 2014,13 2015,14 2016,15 2017,16 2018,17 2019,18 2020,19 2021,20 2022,21 2023,12 202422
What health insurance resources are available to Nebraska residents?
HealthCare.gov
The federal government operates the exchange in Nebraska.
State Exchange Profile: Nebraska
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation overview of Nebraska’s progress toward creating a state health insurance exchange.
Nebraska Department of Insurance
Assists consumers who have purchased insurance on the individual market or who have insurance through an employer who only does business in Nebraska.
(877) 564-7323 / Toll Free: (800) 833-7352
Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org.
Footnotes
- “Nebraska dental insurance guide 2023” healthinsurance.org, Accessed September 2023 ⤶
- April 2023 Medicaid & CHIP Enrollment Data Highlights, Medicaid.gov, April 2023 ⤶
- “Medicare Monthly Enrollment” CMS.gov, May 2023 ⤶
- “Availability of short-term health insurance in Nebraska” healthinsurance.org, Jan. 20, 2023 ⤶
- “A quick guide to the Health Insurance Marketplace®” HealthCare.gov, Accessed August, 2023 ⤶ ⤶
- “When can you get health insurance?” HealthCare.gov, 2023 ⤶
- “Entities Approved to Use Enhanced Direct Enrollment” CMS.gov, April 28, 2023 ⤶
- “2023 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2023 ⤶ ⤶
- “2024 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, March 2024 ⤶
- ”Nebraska Rate Review Submissions” HealthCare.gov, 2023 ⤶ ⤶ ⤶
- “2023 Qualified Health Plans” CMS.gov, Oct. 26. 2022 ⤶
- “Health Insurance Marketplaces 2023 Open Enrollment Report” CMS.gov, Accessed August 2023 ⤶ ⤶
- “ASPE Issue Brief (2014)” ASPE, 2015 ⤶
- “Health Insurance Marketplaces 2015 Open Enrollment Period: March Enrollment Report”, HHS.gov, 2015 ⤶
- “HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACES 2016 OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD: FINAL ENROLLMENT REPORT” HHS.gov, 2016 ⤶
- “2017 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2017 ⤶
- “2018 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2018 ⤶
- “2019 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2019 ⤶
- “2020 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2020 ⤶
- “2021 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2021 ⤶
- “2022 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2022 ⤶
- “HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACES 2024 OPEN ENROLLMENT REPORT” CMS.gov, 2024 ⤶
