Top Medicaid Plans in Nebraska: Heritage Health Plans Compared

Nebraska Medicaid is called Heritage Health, and it runs through three private health plans that cover the whole state. If you qualify, you pick one of them. This page compares the three on public quality ratings and enrollment, explains how to apply and choose, and covers the 2026 work requirements.

One thing up front: Good Life Retirement Solutions does not enroll anyone in Medicaid. Applications go through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). What a Medicare agent can do is help people who have both Medicare and Medicaid choose a Medicare plan that works with it.

How did we rank Nebraska's Medicaid plans?

We used NCQA's 2026 Health Plan Ratings for Nebraska Medicaid. NCQA (the National Committee for Quality Assurance) is an independent nonprofit that scores health plans from 0 to 5 using clinical quality measures and member surveys. It released the 2026 ratings on September 15 to 16, 2026. No company paid to be listed, and being listed is not an endorsement.

Two plans tied at 4.0 overall, so we ordered them by enrollment from the DHHS external quality review report, which counts members as of December 2025. Nebraska has only these three Heritage Health plans, so this list covers every option.

How do the three Heritage Health plans compare?

The two 4.0 plans win on prevention and treatment, while Molina wins on how members feel about the plan. Here are NCQA's 2026 scores side by side.

Sources: NCQA Health Plan Report Cards (data updated September 15, 2026); Nebraska DHHS external quality review report.

A few details stand out. UnitedHealthcare scores 4.5 for heart disease care and 4.0 for diabetes care, the best treatment results of the three. Molina's prevention score includes a 2.0 for cancer screening. The DHHS report has no member satisfaction tables of its own, so NCQA's "satisfaction with plan" score is the best public measure available.

How do you apply for Nebraska Medicaid?

You apply with the state, not with a health plan or an agent. DHHS handles every application, and you choose a plan after you are approved.

• Online: iServe Nebraska at iserve.nebraska.gov. DHHS describes iServe as the portal replacing ACCESSNebraska.
• Phone: (855) 632-7633 toll-free, (402) 473-7000 in Lincoln, (402) 595-1178 in Omaha. TTY (402) 471-7256. Live service runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Mail: DHHS, P.O. Box 2992, Omaha, NE 68103-2992.

Adults 19 to 64 can qualify through Heritage Health Adult, Nebraska's Medicaid expansion, with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level, about $22,025 a year for one person in 2026. People 65 and older usually qualify through the aged, blind and disabled category instead, which in 2026 has a $1,330 monthly income limit and a $4,000 resource limit for one person.

How do you choose or change your Heritage Health plan?

Once you're approved, you choose among the three plans through the Heritage Health Enrollment Center, which offers choice counseling at 1-888-255-2605 (Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central). You can switch within 90 days after your coverage begins, and every year during open enrollment.

All three plans cover the same Medicaid benefits, so choose on access and service:

1. Your doctors and specialists. Call their offices and ask which Heritage Health plans they work with.
2. Your pharmacy. Make sure it is in the plan's network.
3. Your dentist. Since January 1, 2024, each plan provides dental care, and the old $750 yearly adult dental cap is gone. Nebraska Total Care uses Envolve, UnitedHealthcare uses UnitedHealthcare Dental and Molina uses Molina Dental.
4. The scores that matter to you. If you manage diabetes or heart disease, treatment scores may matter more than satisfaction scores.

What do Nebraska's Medicaid work requirements mean?

Nebraska became the first state to start Medicaid work requirements, effective May 1, 2026, eight months before the federal deadline set by Public Law 119-21. They apply only to Heritage Health Adult (expansion) members and applicants ages 19 to 64 who don't qualify for an exemption. Nearly 70,000 Nebraskans were in expansion coverage in January 2026.

• What counts: at least 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, school, an apprenticeship or a work program. Earning $580 in the month or attending school half-time also works.
• Exemptions include parents or caretakers of children 13 or younger, caregivers of people with disabilities, veterans with a total disability rating, people with medical conditions that prevent work, pregnant women and people up to 12 months postpartum.
• Timing: checks began with eligibility periods ending July 31, 2026, and phase in through June 2027. DHHS says it will first try to confirm compliance using data it already has.
• Notice: members who fall short get a 30-day notice to comply or claim an exemption before losing coverage.

Federal law also requires renewals every 6 months for expansion adults starting with renewals on or after January 1, 2027. We could not find a DHHS plan for how Nebraska will handle that as of October 2, 2026. Our news story on Nebraska Medicaid work requirements has the details.

How does Medicaid work if you also have Medicare?

If you have both, Medicare pays first and Medicaid fills in behind it. Nebraska had 43,941 dual-eligible people on Medicare in June 2026. For the differences between the two programs, see Medicare vs Medicaid in Nebraska.

Three things change once you have both:

• Medicare Savings Programs can pay your Part B premium ($202.90 in 2026) and, for QMB members, Medicare deductibles and coinsurance. See Medicare Savings Programs in Nebraska.
• Extra Help with Part D comes automatically with full Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program.
• Special needs plans. You can choose a dual eligible special needs plan (D-SNP). Each Heritage Health company has an affiliated, highly integrated D-SNP. Under a federal rule that takes effect with 2027 plans, some of those D-SNPs may take new members only from the same company's Heritage Health plan, so confirm with the plan before you switch either one. Compare them on our list of D-SNP companies in Nebraska.

Long-term care is changing too. LB1091, passed 49 to 0 on April 10, 2026, requires certain long-term care services for clients with special needs to be carved out of managed care, and nursing facilities cannot be required to enroll with a plan.

Where can you get help with Medicaid and Medicare together?

For Medicaid applications and renewals, go to DHHS through iServe Nebraska or (855) 632-7633. For plan choice, call the Heritage Health Enrollment Center at 1-888-255-2605.

For the Medicare side, Nebraska SHIP (formerly SHIIP) gives unbiased counseling at 1-800-234-7119, and Medicare.gov lists every plan in your county. In Lincoln, Aging Partners helps people 60 and older with benefits questions at 402-441-7070. If you already have Medicaid and Medicare and want help choosing a Medicare plan, talk to me. My help costs you nothing. You can also read about D-SNPs in Nebraska.