Outstanding Nebraska Teacher Award: BCBSNE honors five educators for their impact on students. Five Nebraska educators were recognized with the Outstanding Nebraska Teacher Award as part of the Touchdown for Teachers (T4T) campaign at Nebraska's Spring Football Game on Saturday, March 28. This award recognizes educators for their commitment to improving the lives of their students and community. This is the fourth year Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) has partnered with Husker Athletics to recognize Nebraska's teachers by encouraging community members to nominate the teachers in their community making an impact. In total, T4T received over 700 nominations from across the state for 2026. This year's Outstanding Nebraska Teacher Award recipients include: * Shawn Carlson - South Sioux City High School * Theresa Sampson - Wisner-Pilger Public Schools * Megan Euler - Culler Middle School, Lincoln Public Schools * Sara Forsgren - Fairbury Public Schools * Dale Ritter - Alma Public Schools Representatives from BCBSNE and Husker Athletics surprised each of Nebraska's outstanding teachers with a special visit or a video message, followed by an award ceremony with their students to announce they had won the award. Each educator received a football signed by Huskers Head Coach Matt Rhule, a prize bag and tickets to the Spring Game. "Teachers are the backbone of Nebraska's future, and they give so much of themselves to their students," said Cortney Ray, director of strategic accounts at BCBSNE. "We're thrilled to recognize these standout educators and the meaningful work they champion every day." Recipients were honored on Tom Osborne Field at Memorial Stadium during the Huskers Spring Game.

BCBSNE names Dr. Amy Helwig as chief medical officer. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) has appointed Dr. Amy Helwig as the company's chief medical officer (CMO). As CMO, Dr. Helwig leads BCBSNE's clinical and pharmacy initiatives, including strategic oversight of the company's medical policies and medical review processes. "BCBSNE is so fortunate to have Dr. Helwig on our team," said Gretchen Twohig, executive vice president of patient outcomes and provider partnerships. "She brings with her a wealth of experience, as well as a passion for quality improvement. She will play a key role in helping us fulfill our mission to champion the health and well-being of our members and the communities we serve, while driving improved health care system experiences for patients, providers and payers." Dr. Helwig brings a wealth of experience to her role as BCBSNE's new CMO. Most recently, she was chief quality and population health officer for Commonwealth Care Alliance in Boston. Prior to that, her leadership roles include executive vice president of RTI International's commercial health payer-provider division; chief quality officer of Quality Improvement and Performance for UPMC Health Plan in Pittsburgh; deputy director for quality Improvement and patient safety with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington DC; and chief medical officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Dr. Helwig earned her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, is board-certified in family medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. In addition, she earned a master's degree in medical informatics from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Executive Development Program.