LINCOLN – On Dec 21st, in consultation with Governor-elect Jim Pillen, Governor Pete Ricketts issued Executive Order (EO) 22-08 to continue to facilitate hospital planning and ensure additional healthcare workforce capacity in Nebraska.

EO 22-08 expands the pool of healthcare professionals who are eligible to care for Nebraskans in specific fields of medicine.  Among its directives, the EO suspends various statutes to allow new healthcare providers seeking a license to begin practice under a time-limited provisional license while awaiting examination results, as long as they have completed all other requirements for licensure.

For these professions, the EO also defers requirements for face-to-face and direct, onsite training with a supervisor and defers requirements for in-person client contact hours as part of their training.  Both allow for increased use of remote alternatives to complete training needed to obtain a license.

These changes allow Nebraska’s healthcare facility administrators and practitioners to more readily serve Nebraskans until the EO expires on June 30, 2023. 

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will work with the Legislature during the 2023 legislative session to add these changes to statute and make their impact permanent.