Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Nebraska program

Help with a private health-plan premium (HIPP)

Nebraska can reimburse a private health-plan premium when someone in the household has Medicaid.

What it is

Nebraska can reimburse a private health-plan premium when someone in the household has Medicaid.

A household member needs Medicaid and private coverage or a chance to enroll in it. DHHS then compares costs. Approval can make keeping both plans less expensive.

Eligibility rules
  • At least one household member must be Medicaid eligible, and the private plan must pass DHHS’s cost comparison.
  • Eligibility only through a share-of-cost spend-down does not qualify.
  • Court-ordered policies, premiums reimbursed elsewhere and limited-benefit policies are excluded. Medicare, TRICARE or CHAMPVA eligibility also excludes this route.
What you get
  • The approved private premium is paid back electronically to the policyholder.
  • Your child can keep private coverage alongside Medicaid.
What the help covers
  • Payment goes to the policyholder rather than the employer. It reimburses the premium rather than replacing either health plan.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the DHHS HIPP unit for form MS-88 and a premium review.
  2. Have the Medicaid notice, plan summary and full premium amount from HR ready.

Nebraska DHHS HIPP unit · 402-471-6521 · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • Proof of each premium payment is due within 60 days. Missing proof can stop reimbursement.
  • The HIPP unit can confirm the current MS-88 form, what it needs for the cost comparison, the first premium it could reimburse and the deadline for proof of payment. Medicaid approval alone does not guarantee that the private premium will be repaid.
Good to know

You do not have to be enrolled in the private plan yet. An opportunity to enroll can qualify for review.

Other details
  • A denial based on cost means the private plan failed the state’s comparison. The HIPP unit can explain which costs it used.

Federal background: Medicaid premium assistance.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Nebraska help pay our private premium if someone in our family has Medicaid? What would the review and ongoing proof involve, and could you help us decide whether to request it?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether we can afford to keep both plans.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Send the form with the premium amount and the Medicaid notice, then send proof of each payment.

Your social worker

HR gives you the premium figure and the plan summary.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Nebraska DHHS premium payment unit, after comparing costs.
Ask the agency
“My child has Nebraska Medicaid and we pay a work-plan premium. Please check whether the premium payment programme can cover it.”

How to apply

First step: Call 402-471-6521 or send form MS-88 with the premium amount.

  1. Ask HR for the full premium and the plan summary.
  2. Send form MS-88 with the Medicaid notice.
  3. Keep every premium receipt and send proof within sixty days.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Send form MS-88 (revision 3/2022) or call 402-471-6521.

What to gather

  • The full monthly premium from HR
  • The Medicaid approval notice
  • The plan summary

How long: No decision deadline is published. Ask for one in writing.

What a yes looks like

Electronic reimbursement of the premium to the policyholder.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the answer is that it is not cost-effective, ask which services were compared.

Watch out

  • You do not need to be enrolled yet: having the chance to enrol counts.
  • A share-of-cost spend-down alone does not open it.
  • Proof of each payment is due within sixty days or the money stops.

Dates that change this

2022-03-01: The linked application is form MS-88, revision March 2022. It is the form the current page links to; a newer one was not found.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Nebraska pays the private premium when it is cheaper than Medicaid covering the same services. Proof of payment is due within sixty days.

  • $60 — Days to send proof of each premium payment

Covers: Payment of the private plan premium

What it costs the family: The premium is reimbursed to the policyholder electronically.

The eligibility facts, as published

Other
a Medicaid-eligible household member plus private insurance or the opportunity to enrol; the plan must pass the cost comparison
Residency
Nebraska
Processing standard
unknown: no decision deadline was published

Decisions this site cannot make: A cost-effectiveness comparison against equivalent Medicaid services

Expect friction on: Proof of each premium payment is due within sixty days

The trap: You do not have to be enrolled already. The current page covers people who have private insurance or the opportunity to enrol.

Where I read this

← Back to your options