J.S. v. Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
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The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's judgment affirming a state agency's denial of Medicaid eligibility after J.S., a noncitizen who was admitted into the bridge to independence program (B2I), reached age nineteen, holding that the statutes and regulations cited by J.S. did not authorize her participation despite her immigration status and age.
B2I, Nebraska's extended foster care program, was created by the Young Adult Bridge to Independence Act (YABI), Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-4501 to 43-4514. J.S., a citizen of El Salvador who fled to Nebraska as a minor, was adjudicated in juvenile court and placed into foster care. Upon turning nineteen years old, J.S. was accepted into B2I but was denied Medicaid coverage after her nineteenth birthday. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) upheld the denial of Medicaid benefits. At issue on appeal was whether J.S. could receive Medicaid under B2I. The district court concluded that because the Nebraska Legislature did not affirmatively provide for unlawful aliens to receive Medicaid benefits under B2I, J.S. was not entitled to Medicaid benefits. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in determining that J.S. was not eligible for Medicaid.
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