Media Contacts:
Taylor Gage, (402) 471-1970
Justin Pinkerman, (402) 471-1967
Governor's Media Release:
LINCOLN – This morning, during a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Pete Ricketts announced additional financial assistance for long-term care (LTC) facilities as they serve Nebraskans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The State of Nebraska is allocating another $15 million to help nursing homes and assisted living facilities cover additional costs they've incurred during the pandemic. The State is applying to the federal government to match these funds with $25 million, to provide a total of $40 million of new financial assistance for LTC facilities in Nebraska. Jeremy Brunssen, Interim Director of the Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care within the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), joined the Governor for the press briefing. He discussed the increased federal and state resources available to LTC facilities to help offset the rising costs they are experiencing due to the coronavirus.
President and CEO of the Nebraska Health Care Association (NHCA) Heath Boddy and LeadingAge Nebraska CEO Jenifer Acierno also participated in this morning's event. They spoke about the challenging work LTC facilities are doing to provide care to residents and reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.
At this morning's press conference, Gov. Ricketts also highlighted an executive order he has issued to allow flexibility for polling places on election day. Executive Order (EO) 20-35 allows county election commissioners the flexibility to use poll workers from outside of their own counties, if needed, tomorrow on Election Day. EO 20-35 is identical to an order the Governor issued in May 2020 during the primary elections to make sure counties had sufficient resources to staff polling locations. EO 20-35 is available by clicking here.
The Governor also clarified that coronavirus vaccines, once available, will be free to all Nebraskans. The federal government is paying the costs of administering the vaccinations.
Video from today's press conference is available by clicking here.