Nebraska has child care crisis — Medicaid cuts will make it worse

Malissie Plugge felt blessed to find the perfect child care setup for her daughters Margo and Violet, a warm, sweet in-home day care not too far from their home in Omaha.

Over the past year and a half, the woman who ran the day care became like family. Plugge planned to keep sending her girls, ages 5 and 2, until they both started school.

But in January, the provider learned her mother’s home health nurse would no longer be covered by Medicaid due to state funding cuts. The day care had to close so she could take care of her mom.