Indiana Health Insurance Bills Healthy Indiana Plan

The Democrats returned to the state Capitol on Monday of last week, almost five weeks after they fled the state to protest several bills they said would weaken organized labor. The move eclipsed a dubious national record – Indiana legislators claim the longest quorum-busting walkout in U.S. legislative history. Indiana health insurance bills are expected to have hearings over the next several weeks. In addition, the status of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) in relation to the new federal health care law is still unknown.  Governor Mitch Daniels and state officials have pressed federal Medicaid officials to indicate whether the HIP can continue beyond the scheduled Dec. 12, 2012 expiration of a waiver that allows the state to divert Medicaid funds for the program.  The Daniels administration plans to ask the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to approve an amended state plan to allow the existing HIP program to cover Medicaid expansions under the new federal law.  A top concern is that HIP’s Medicaid waiver expires a full year before the federal Medicaid expansion. However, Indiana needs to plan now for how it will enroll as many as 500,000 newly eligible recipients, whether through HIP, traditional Medicaid, or another program. Legislation currently pending in the legislature would require minimum monthly payments of $8.33 per month, or $100 annually.

Tags: indiana health insurance