2%
In a future of fewer births and more deaths across an aging population, immigration will play a major role in whether the United States grows or declines over future years. In plotting projections through 2100, the Census Bureau provided four scenarios influenced by immigration policy. From 333 million people in 2022, the U.S. would grow to 435 million in the “high” immigration scenario and 366 million in the scenario most consistent with recent history. Population would decline to 319 million in the “low” immigration scenario similar to what played out in the final years of the Trump presidency and 226 million with zero immigration.
Because immigrants and their children are generally younger than the rest of the population, immigration policy is key to sustaining the nation’s workforce. The Census Bureau, assuming immigration policy consistent with recent history, projects 2% growth in the working-age population through 2035. “Low” immigration would stagnate any projected growth.
Watch panel discussion on New Americans and solving workforce issues in Nebraska
15%
Sustained investment in the network of roads and bridges across Nebraska is essential for those living from border to border. But amid inflationary pressures and ongoing supply chain issues, the cost to address the state highway system’s greatest needs has grown by 15% from just last year.
Addressing the Legislature’s Appropriations and Transportation Committees, state Transportation Director Vicky Kramer estimated that maintaining the state’s highway system will cost $16.7 billion over the next 20 years. Annual needs, she said, are outpacing what the department can accomplish through its annual program.
Read more from Omaha World-Herald
No. 1
A national report evaluating a number of factors ranging from access to providers to air pollution ranked Nebraska as the best state for your mental health in 2023. The report by Soliant Health, which provides staffing services for hospitals, schools and other health care providers, ranked all 50 states on various factors that affect mental health.
Nebraska ranked high for the percentage of teenagers and young adults who are working or in school, the state’s low unemployment rate and for having the lowest number of mentally unhealthy days as reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Read the Best States for Mental Health report
Find information on the Nebraska Family Helpline
7%
Lawmakers in Minnesota plan to introduce legislation next year that would cap the cost of child care for most families at 7% of their household income. Under the proposal, a family of four making less than $176,000 per year – defined as 150% of the state’s median income – would spend no more than $12,320 on child care in a year, with the state reimbursing child care providers for additional costs. In Minnesota, the average cost of child care for an infant is more than $16,000 a year.
In Nebraska, the average cost for an infant in child care was estimated at $11,000 in 2021 but is likely to have risen amid workforce challenges and the availability of child care services. A recent poll found that 61% of rural Nebraskans agree that there is a shortage of affordable child care options in their communities. Four out of five participants in the survey said affordable child care is important to the growth of their town.
Read more from Minnesota Reformer
Read Nebraska child care report from Buffett Early Childhood Institute
58%
More than eight months after states resumed eligibility reviews, 58% of Medicaid recipients in the U.S. have heard little or nothing about the Medicaid “unwinding,” according to a recent poll conducted by KFF. The health policy research organization found that an even larger share of the general public, 68%, said they had heard little or nothing about the issue.
Since April, 70,637 of the 213,327 Medicaid enrollees in Nebraska reviewed as part of the unwinding are no longer enrolled. KFF reports that 47% of those who lost their health coverage in Nebraska were terminated for procedural reasons such as not participating in the renewal process or not completing paperwork in a timely manner. Eligibility reviews in Nebraska will continue through April 2024.
Coming Soon: OpenSky’s updated overview of Medicaid in Nebraska
Find resources on Medicaid “unwinding” in Nebraska from Nebraska Appleseed
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Join OpenSky Policy Institute and the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands for a virtual briefing on the state budget at noon on Wednesday, January 10. Register today.
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