Nebraska
Nebraska is becoming the first state to implement a Medicaid work requirement signed by Trump
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska on Friday will become the first state to enforce work, volunteer or education requirements for new Medicaid applicants, eight months before the federally mandated requirements kick in.
Advocates worry that the state is launching so rapidly that key details remain unresolved and some people who are eligible for coverage will lose it.
State officials say they’re prepared, training staff and sending letters, emails and texts to people who could be impacted.
Health policy experts, advocates and other states will be watching closely.
“It can be used as a lesson for other states, both where things go well and where things don’t go well,” said Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
The law is expected to leave some without insurance
The work requirement is part of a broad tax and policy law that President Donald Trump signed last year. Nebraska Republican Gov. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced in December that the state would implement it eight months before it was required, saying the aim was “making sure we get every able-bodied Nebraskan to be a part of our community.”
The state had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. in February: 3.1%
The federal policy won’t apply to all Medicaid beneficiaries, just those who are enrolled under an expansion that most states chose to make to allow more low-income people to get healthcare coverage.
Under the change, many Medicaid participants ages 19 through 64 will have to show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month, or are enrolled in school at least half-time. They’ll also have their eligibility reviewed every six months rather than annually, so they could lose coverage faster if their circumstances change.
Exceptions will be made for people who are too medically frail to work or in addiction treatment programs, among others.
An Urban Institute report from March estimated that the changes would mean about 5 million to 10 million people fewer people nationally would be enrolled in Medicaid than would have been otherwise.
Choices states make about how to run their programs are expected to be a major factor in exactly how many people lose coverage.
“The higher the administrative burden, the more likely people are found noncompliant and disenrolled,” said Michael Karpman, who researches health policy at Urban.
Nebraska plans to use data to help determine who qualifies
Not everyone who has coverage will need to submit proof that they’re working.
The state says it will first match enrollees with other data it has to see if participants are working or exempt. The state says it has that information for most of the roughly 70,000 people enrolled in Medicaid through the expansion.
That leaves between 20,000 and 28,000 who would have to provide more information, plus an average of 3,000 to 4,000 new enrollees each month.
At first, they will just need to show that they met the requirements in just one month of the previous 12. The time frame will shift to six months in 2027.
There’s some flexibility. For instance, instead of showing they work 80 hours in a month, someone could instead provide records that demonstrate they earned at least $580, the amount someone earning minimum wage would make in 80 hours.
People who don’t submit requested information within 30 days of being asked could have their applications denied or lose coverage they already have.
The change is causing worry and confusion
Bridgette Annable, who lives in southwest Nebraska, received a letter saying she must meet the work requirements or lose the benefits that pay for her insulin and diabetic supplies.
The 21-year-old mother now has a part-time job, despite being advised against it to protect her mental health. She’s worried about her ability to keep working.
“I am working 30 to 25 hours a week — as much as my employer can provide,” Annable said. “Although I call out of work often due to fibromyalgia pain and bipolar episodes that leave me too tired to leave the house. I have enough energy to take care of my daughter and do some cleaning, but that’s about it.”
Amy Behnke, the CEO of the Health Center Association of Nebraska, said that staff members who help people enroll with Medicaid and their clients have a lot of questions, including some that the state hasn’t yet answered.
Some examples: Apprenticeship programs are supposed to count for work requirements, but does that apply only to those certified by the state’s labor department? There’s an exemption for people who travel to a hospital for care, but there’s not clarity on how far the journey must be.
KFF’s Tolbert noted that the state issued its 295-page list last week of conditions that could qualify someone as medically frail. “We don’t know if it’s a comprehensive list,” she said.
“The speed at which we are choosing to implement work requirements hasn’t left a lot of space for really meaningful communication,” Behnke said.
And Nebraska could have to make changes after the federal government provides guidance that is expected in June.
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Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.
We’ll have to wait a bit longer to get into the Cowgirls’ Super Regional.
A rainy night in Lincoln meant the teams only managed to get four outs into the Super between Oklahoma State and Nebraska. The game is tied at 0. The weather delay lasted about two hours before they called it.
The game will resume at 4 p.m. Friday and be televised on ESPN2. They will not play another game Friday, as Game 2 will now take place at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Nebraska football team added its third 2027 offensive line commitment and addition from the state of Georgia on Wednesday.
Loganville (Ga.) Grayson offensive lineman KD Jones officially announced his commitment to NU this week. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Jones picked the Huskers over Georgia Tech, Auburn, Kentucky and Virginia Tech. He visited Lincoln on May 6 and is scheduled to take his official visit to Nebraska on June 6.
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The Huskers first offered Jones in April, after offensive line coach Geep Wade had previously been recruiting him at Georgia Tech.
“Coach Wade called me and offered me today,” Jones told HuskerOnline on Apr. 25. “He has been on me for a long time, ever since he was at Tech. So his interest wasn’t anything new to me. He came to watch me train at school and was amazed. He offered the next day.”
Jones joins safety Corey Hadley from the state of Georgia in NU’s 2027 recruiting class.
“I knew nothing about Nebraska before the offer,” Jones said in April. But now that Coach Wade and Coach (Lonnie) Teasley are there, I know I can trust them.”
Jones had planned to take official visits to all the schools recruiting him, but his early commitment to NU appears to have shut down those visits.
He jones Omaha (Neb.) Millard North’s Matt Erickson and fellow Grayson product Jordan Agbanoma are the other offensive linemen in the Huskers’ 2027 recruiting class. He’s now the 10th commitment in Nebraska’s class of 2027.
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Family, coaches of rookie tight end detail his path to Jacksonville
Nate Boerkircher’s journey from small-town Nebraska to Jaguars
A look at the journey of tight end Nate Boerkircher from growing up in small-town Nebraska to joining the Jacksonville Jaguars.
They all gathered in Gretna, Nebraska, on the night of April 24, a bundle of excitement and anticipation mixed with a sprinkle of anxiousness. Nate Boerkircher was at his parents’ house and joined by the full crew of his older siblings and four nieces, his fiancée and her parents.
There was no need for a first-round NFL draft party — they all loved Nate, but understood he wasn’t going to be selected the night before. And they would later admit, they weren’t completely sure the second- and third-round party would have a celebratory end, either.
But then a call with the 904 area code appeared on Nate’s phone. The Jacksonville Jaguars were calling to tell him he would be their initial draft pick. His older brother, Ian, was in another room when Nate’s future father-in-law burst through the doorway to tell him “The Call” had arrived.
“I ran into the room and we were over the moon when he told us it was Jacksonville,” Ian said.
The reaction of Jaguars fans was the opposite of over the moon, their angst at an irrational level because they had never heard of Boerkircher and because they adopted the dreaded “consensus board” that ranked Nate as a Day 3 (rounds 4-7) prospect as the “consensus truth.”
But Jaguars fans, this is a guy worth getting to know, a guy from really-small-town Nebraska who will bring an enforcer-type mindset to the Jaguars’ offense via maximum effort and whose journey to Jacksonville was the opposite of a figurative straight line. Deliberate was his race.
“He’s been a steady climber all of his life,” said his dad, Matt.
This climb was a mixture of horizontal and vertical steps. Under-recruited in high school. Walk-on at Nebraska. Five seasons in the Huskers’ program. One year at Texas A&M. And now the Jaguars.
“Nate has always wanted to do the right things even when it was hard,” said Emily Stolpe, one of Nate’s three older siblings. “For him, doing the right thing is showing up, working his butt off and doing what he could to better himself as an athlete even if people didn’t believe in him.”
Throughout the last two weeks, the Times-Union connected with Nate’s inner circle to detail his journey … and get their draft night memories.
The draft night experience for Matt Boerkircher (Nate’s dad):
“Incredible. Emotional. Excited. Very happy for Nate. Being new to the draft thing, I had been starting to follow the ‘consensus board,’ and all of the mock drafts and they were projecting him in the fourth or fifth rounds so we were expecting a Saturday announcement. But his agents said (before round 2), ‘He’s probably not going to get out of the third round.’ I was like, ‘I’m glad we all got together (Friday).’ But even then, I was in a believe-it-when-I-see-it-on-Friday-night (mode).”
Small-town Nebraska native
Aurora, Nebraska, is the kind of town where everybody knows everybody, mostly because there aren’t a lot of people to know. The 2020 census listed a population of 4,678 and when the four Boerkircher kids attended high school, their graduating classes were around 100.
Located five miles north of Interstate 80 at the intersection of Highways 14 (north-south) and 34 (east-west), Aurora is 72 miles west of Lincoln (home of the University of Nebraska) and 125 miles west of Omaha. On the main drag, there is a Pizza Hut, a Casey’s General Store, JoJo’s Gelato & Grill, Pueblo Veijo, Scooter’s Coffee, Dollar General and a hospital. The closest brand-name hotel is a Hampton Inn 26 miles east in York.
Matt and Sherry’s four kids are Abby, 31, Emily, 29, Ian, 26, and Nate, 24.
“Very busy house,” Sherry said with a laugh. “Kind of chaotic, but fun.”
Where did the kids hang out?
“People’s basements,” Emily said.
And the adults?
“You would see a lot of the older guys at McDonald’s talking about the football team,” said Emily, who lives in the Omaha area with her husband and two daughters.
The Huskies were the only game in town and community support was a constant. You went to watch them play on Friday nights (basketball and football) and then watched the Cornhuskers on Saturdays.
All of the Boerkircher kids played sports and being young, rambunctious boys, Ian and Nate would play jump-ball for Matt’s football throws in the family room (that poor couch took a beating) and backyard. Rough-housing was common.
“Oh, absolutely and we encouraged it,” said Sherry, who is a registered nurse. “It was great.”
Said Ian: “It would get fairly physical. I just felt like our family in general was high-energy. It was a ton of fun growing up.”
Nate missed the start of his junior season in 2018 due to knee surgery, but returned in time to catch two touchdown passes (4 and 27 yards) from quarterback Baylor Scheierman (now a guard for the Boston Celtics) to cap a 13-0 championship season with a 49-7 win over Ord at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium.
“In a lot of ways, Nate was a late bloomer,” Aurora High School coach Kyle Peterson said. “But you saw the talent and athleticism and the tools he always possessed were exceptional hands and a kid who was willing to be physical.”
It was fitting that title season was capped at the Huskers’ home because it was Nebraska or nothing for Nate. He could have taken the Division II route like Ian, who started his career at Nebraska-Kearney, but Nate only had the red “N” in his dreams.
“I was shocked when he said he’s going Division I or he wasn’t going to play and just go to college,” Sherry said.
Following a game he attended in Lincoln, the Huskers’ coaching staff invited Nate to walk on for the 2020 season. Ian had transferred to Nebraska in 2019, also as a walk-on.
The Boerkircher Boys would be reunited in Lincoln.
The draft night experience for Sherry Boerkircher (Nate’s mom):
“I was holding my 2-year old granddaughter and somebody said, ‘Nate got a call,’ so I handed her off to somebody, I can’t even remember who. I went into the room — I had to get in there to see what was going on — where he was and it was surreal. Hard to explain. So amazing.”
Walk-on and wait at Nebraska
Nate red-shirted in 2020 and appeared in three games (two catches) in 2021 before his role increased in 2022-24 (36 games/17 starts). Some Huskers rosters swelled to 150 players because of their commitment to recruiting in-state walk-ons. They were all long shots to earn a scholarship and/or regular playing time.
“It was all about working as hard as you possibly could to make a name for yourself,” said Ian, who was a reserve offensive lineman.
Walking into his house during a phone interview, Ian looked at two touchstone pictures that made his Nebraska experience with Nate so special.
The first picture is of the Boerkircher boys getting ready to line up next to each other in kick protection.
“We would have a lot of field goal reps because I would be the tight end and he was the wing outside of me and I would get blown up by two guys coming off the edge and Nate would help me out,” Ian said.
The second picture is one the entire family will always remember. Nebraska hosted North Dakota on Sept. 3, 2022, and Nate caught a 19-yard touchdown pass to give the Huskers the lead for good in an eventual 38-17 win. Despite the play’s importance, it flew under the postgame radar; there were no comments from Nate in the Lincoln or Omaha newspapers.
The picture is of Ian embracing Nate post-touchdown.
“Thank God they got that picture,” Ian said. “I’m running onto the field to celebrate with him because I had the biggest adrenaline rush of my life seeing him score. I was like ‘Holy (bleep)!’”
Asked about the picture, Sherry got choked up and said: “That was one of the most amazing days because my boys were on the field at the same time for Nebraska and they got to celebrate together and play together.”
Every time Nos. 58 (Ian) and 49 (Nate) were on the field at the same time was special for the family. Matt and Sherry saw their sons and Abby and Emily saw their younger brothers living out their dream. Emily’s two young daughters would wear Nebraska cheerleader outfits to the game.
“I just remember when they were in high school never thinking it would happen, but hoping, ‘How cool would it be to see both my brothers be Huskers?’” Emily said. “Not only did I get to see that, my little girls got to watch their uncles out there. We loved every second of it.”
Nate never added to his touchdown total at Nebraska. He went on scholarship before the 2023 season (great), but totaled only 11 catches in 24 games in 2023-24 (frustrating).
“I don’t understand why they didn’t take advantage of his skill set a little bit better,” Peterson said.
In December 2024, Nate put his name into the transfer portal and while he received multiple calls, he started his path to Texas A&M by making the call himself.
The draft night experience for Abby Woodward (Nate’s sister):
“I was driving and merging onto the interstate. I was almost there. I had to turn it on my phone. Oh, my gosh, it was amazing and hard to even describe. Just unbelievable. So excited for him.”
Flourished at Texas A&M
Christian Ellsworth spent 2023 as an offensive analyst at Nebraska working with the tight ends before moving to Texas A&M. A native of Grand Island, Nebraska, Christian played high school football against Ian, and Ellsworth’s younger brother played against Nate.
In December 2024, Nate entered the portal and Ellsworth said he “immediately,” got a call from Nate. Just as quickly, Ellsworth told A&M coach Mike Elko and offensive coordinator Collin Klein that Nate should be on their list. A week later, after visiting Texas A&M and Oklahoma, Nate committed to the Aggies.
“I knew he was maybe underutilized at Nebraska and wanted a chance to fully show his capabilities and we felt like he would be a perfect fit for our system and bring some toughness to that position,” said Ellsworth, now the quarterbacks coach at Kansas State. “It was pretty easy for the (staff) to see that he was somebody we needed on our team. We felt full-court press on recruiting him.”
A&M pitched Nate on being a part of two-tight end personnel along with Theo Melin Ohrstrom. In fall camp, A&M used a statistical marker called “The Men of the 10,” which charted how many times a player hustled down the field to make a key block. Entering the final day of camp, Nate and Ohrstrom (now at SMU) were tied at 36. Elko challenged them to see who would break the tie … and both earned four more stars to finish tied.
“That just embodied who they are as competitors and it was Nate saying, ‘Theo, I know you’ve been here, but I’m coming to play, too, and coming to do whatever it takes and go above and beyond to make sure I sketch out a role on this team,’” Ellsworth said.
It took three games for Nate to become a fan favorite when his 11-yard touchdown catch on fourth down with 13 seconds remaining propelled A&M to a 41-40 win at Notre Dame. His parents were watching from the opposite corner of the field, having made the drive from Gretna to South Bend.
“Very emotional; it’s still emotional,” said Matt, getting choked up. “Right underneath Touchdown Jesus. Just the way Nate operates, when the pass went up, I was going to be surprised if he didn’t catch it. He’s type of guy you want on the field at the end of the game because he’s so clutch.”
Said Sherry: “We knew it was life-changing for him. He was all smiles (after the game). He knew it was a special time.”
Matt and Sherry attended all 13 A&M games, a season that ended with a College Football Playoff first-round loss to Miami. Nate’s siblings were all able to attend select games at Kyle Field, which drew 104,122 for the Miami game.
The Boerkirchers loved going to Lincoln for Huskers games, but the SEC at night, well, it hit different.
“The SEC was so cool,” Sherry said. “I love A&M so much.”
Said Matt: “It was great to get immersed in a whole different culture at A&M and that was a magical season. And Nebraska is such a close-knit state, we were getting messages about how people were all of a sudden Texas A&M fans.”
Nate finished his only A&M season with 19 catches (three touchdowns).
“I wasn’t a main threat in the passing game, but I had a massive route tree for a tight end so I absolutely loved it,” he said.
The draft night experience for Kyle Peterson (Nate’s coach at Aurora High School):
“I was making supper and had the TV on in the back of the room. I heard his name called and I froze for probably 10 seconds before it dawned on me what was actually happening.”
’Best football ahead of him’
The Boerkirchers couldn’t miss the criticism levied at the Jaguars after they picked Nate.
“We definitely saw the feedback and the same thing happened at A&M when he transferred,” Matt said. “There were shinier toys (A&M) got and Nate was an afterthought. But it didn’t take long before the fan base were won over by Nate because of what he did on the field.”
What should the Jaguars and their fans know about Nate?
“He’s an incredible worker,” said Abby, who lives with her husband and two daughters (and a third child due in June) in Hamburg, Iowa. “He just has incredible drive.”
Said Peterson: “They’re going to get a phenomenal teammate. He’s going to walk into that organization and do everything he can to make them better.”
On a Jaguars offense with plenty of playmakers, Nate will have to get in line for catches, his role expected to be more of a run-game blocker. But those around him hope he can be included in the pass game.
“His best football is ahead of him,” Ellsworth said. “He just continued to get better and better. He moves a lot better than people think and has a quick twitch to him to help him create space and even if he’s covered, he’s long enough and strong enough to make the catch.”
When the Jaguars open the season Sept. 13 against the Cleveland Browns, expect to see many No. 87 jerseys. Matt and Ian said they have never attended an NFL regular-season game so the excitement is already high for the Jaguars’ Week 1 opener against the Cleveland Browns.
“For the first game I see to be watching my son will be surreal,” Matt said.
Surreal has been Nate’s journey just to this point. The next step is silencing the remaining doubters.
“Time and time again, I’ve been so impressed by how Nate has proven people wrong,” Emily said. “That talk empowers him to keep pushing.”
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night”), Thursdays (1:15 on “XL Primetime”) and Fridays (4-6 p.m. on “The Lead”).
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