Telehealth rules in Nebraska changed for 2026 — here's what's different

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Nebraska’s telehealth policy has evolved steadily since 2020, and 2026 marks a period of relative stability after several years of rapid change. The state’s Heritage Health Medicaid MCOs have settled into consistent telehealth coverage frameworks, APRN full practice authority continues to expand telehealth reach into rural areas, and commercial payers are largely aligned on parity principles. Here is what changed and what it means in practice.

Nebraska’s telehealth statute and recent updates

Nebraska’s core telehealth statute is codified in Nebraska Revised Statutes sections 71-8503 through 71-8507. The statute defines telehealth broadly to include synchronous audio-video, asynchronous store-and-forward, and remote patient monitoring. It does not restrict the originating site for most service categories — meaning a Nebraska patient can receive covered telehealth services from home, from a clinic, or from another facility.

The most consequential recent development is not a statutory change but a regulatory one: as of 2025, all three Heritage Health MCOs — Nebraska Total Care, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Nebraska, and Molina Healthcare of Nebraska — provide written coverage confirmations for synchronous telehealth that apply across both urban and rural enrollees. Omaha and Lincoln enrollees are no longer treated differently than rural-county enrollees for telehealth eligibility purposes.

Audio-only telehealth: Nebraska Medicaid reimburses audio-only (telephone) visits for behavioral health services when audio-video is not accessible to the patient. This provision mirrors a national trend among Medicaid programs that maintained some form of audio-only coverage post-pandemic. For primary care telephone visits, reimbursement varies by MCO — confirming coverage with the specific plan before billing is advisable.

What Heritage Health covers via telehealth in 2026

All three MCOs cover synchronous audio-video telehealth for:

  • Primary care office visits (CPT 99213, 99214 with telehealth POS modifier)
  • Individual psychotherapy (CPT 90837, 90834)
  • Psychiatric medication management
  • Substance use disorder counseling and MAT follow-up
  • Chronic disease management follow-up visits

Place of Service code 10 (telehealth, patient in home) is now accepted by all three MCOs for home-based telehealth encounters. POS 02 applies when the patient is at a non-home originating site. Modifier 95 (synchronous audio-video) or GT depending on the specific MCO — check the current billing guide for each plan.

Behavioral health ICD-10 codes F32.9 (depression) and F41.1 (anxiety) are fully reimbursable via telehealth under Heritage Health across all three MCOs.

APRN full practice authority and telehealth reach

Nebraska is one of relatively few states with full practice authority for APRNs — no physician collaborative agreement required. This interacts directly with telehealth: an APRN-led clinic in Omaha can deliver services to patients in Dundy County or Cherry County via telehealth without requiring a physician to be involved. The APRN can diagnose, treat, and prescribe independently within their scope.

For rural Nebraska patients who previously had limited access to primary care or behavioral health, an APRN telehealth visit from a credentialed Heritage Health provider represents a real access expansion. Several FQHCs in Omaha and Lincoln have launched telehealth programs specifically aimed at western Nebraska counties under this model.

Controlled substance prescribing via telehealth

Federal DEA rules govern controlled substance prescribing via telemedicine. The DEA’s temporary extension of pandemic-era Schedule III–V prescribing flexibilities — which allowed prescriptions without an in-person visit under certain conditions — has been subject to ongoing rulemaking. Providers using telehealth to prescribe buprenorphine (a Schedule III medication commonly used for opioid use disorder treatment) should verify the current DEA rule status, as changes affect MAT prescribing workflows.

Nebraska does not have a separate state-level controlled substance telehealth restriction beyond the federal framework, but the DEA rulemaking creates uncertainty that providers should monitor.

Commercial payer telehealth coverage in Nebraska

Nebraska’s telehealth parity statute (R.R.S. 44-1843.02) requires state-regulated commercial health insurance plans to cover telehealth services on the same basis as equivalent in-person services. This applies to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska (Medica acquired BCBS Nebraska — the local plan is now Medica), Mutual of Omaha, and other Nebraska-domiciled insurers. National carriers operating in Nebraska (Aetna, Cigna, UHC, Humana) have their own telehealth billing guides that generally align with parity principles.

What this means for Nebraska patients and providers

For patients: whether you are in Omaha, Lincoln, or a rural county like Sheridan or Box Butte, your Heritage Health MCO covers synchronous telehealth for primary care and behavioral health. Confirming your provider is credentialed with your specific MCO remains the most important pre-visit step.

For providers and clinics: Nebraska’s full APRN practice authority combined with home-based telehealth originating-site rules creates one of the more favorable telehealth environments in the region. The billing complexity is manageable — the main risk is modifier errors. Downloading each MCO’s current telehealth billing addendum (typically updated annually) and reviewing it before submitting the first claim prevents most denials.

Find Nebraska telehealth-capable providers and clinics.

This post was drafted by AI and reviewed by our editorial team. Last updated 2026-05-28.