Having a baby in Nebraska

Program

Nebraska Medicaid (Heritage Health)

Agency

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Medicaid limit

199% of the poverty level

CHIP unborn-child option

Up to 202%

12-month postpartum coverage since

January 1, 2024

Presumptive eligibility

Yes. A qualified clinic or hospital can enroll you right away.

Above 199%, coverage comes only through CHIP's From Conception to End of Pregnancy option. It covers the pregnancy regardless of the parent's immigration status, but benefits and postpartum coverage can be narrower than full Medicaid.

Nebraska has no state paid family leave program, so paid time off after birth depends on your employer; federal FMLA gives eligible workers 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.

Pay

No state paid family leave program.

Job protection

Federal FMLA gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave if the employer has 50+ employees within 75 miles and you've worked there 12 months and 1,250 hours. Nebraska's Fair Employment Practice Act requires employers with 15+ employees to reasonably accommodate pregnancy, and the law lists time off to recover from childbirth and modified work schedules as accommodations, unless they cause undue hardship. No set number of weeks is guaranteed.

State leave law

Nebraska's Fair Employment Practice Act requires employers with 15+ employees to reasonably accommodate pregnancy, and the law lists time off to recover from childbirth and modified work schedules as accommodations, unless they cause undue hardship. No set number of weeks is guaranteed.

Notes

There's no state paid family leave program and no law for voluntary family leave insurance. Paid time off after a birth depends on your employer's own policy, short-term disability insurance if you have it, or paid sick time.

Checked October 2026. Amounts usually change January 1 and July 1, so confirm with the state before you plan.

In Nebraska, Medicaid pays for up to five lactation counseling sessions per child from physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives or nurses who are IBCLC certified.

Who can bill

physician; nurse practitioner; physician assistant; midwife; registered nurse

Where

outpatient; telehealth

Visit limits

Five counseling sessions per child, each up to 90 minutes; birth through 90 days postpartum (later when medically necessary)

IBCLCs can enroll on their own

No

Notes

Lactation counseling is a Health Check (EPSDT) service for the infant and mother, provided by a physician, NP, PA, midwife or RN who holds IBCLC certification, billed with lactation-specific EP-modified codes (99203-99205, 99214-99215 for IBCLC physicians; 99429 per 30 minutes for IBCLC non-physicians). Separately, the Prenatal Plus Program for at-risk pregnancies pays one breastfeeding instruction session (S9443) by an LMNT or IBCLC per pregnancy. Nebraska Total Care's handbook lists the same five-session limit with no PA; other Heritage Health plans were not checked.

Nebraska Medicaid member information

Full-time provider prices before any subsidy, in 2022 dollars. The national median for center infant care was $12,647 a year. 93 county infant center prices were not surveyed in 2022; DOL estimated them from the price trend between other survey years.