This week, Indiana received approval to continue its successful alternative to the traditional Medicaid expansion program, the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), for 10 more years, allowing the state to continue providing medical coverage for over half a million low-income Hoosiers.
Created by the General Assembly in 2007 under former Gov. Mitch Daniels, and expanded in 2015, HIP was the nation’s first consumer-driven health care program for Medicaid beneficiaries. It is a conservative alternative to traditional Medicaid that promotes personal responsibility and patient control over health care choices by requiring those above the poverty level to make reasonable personal contributions to receive assistance.
HIP also incentivizes individuals to participate in preventative screenings, which are free, and to stop smoking, which is rewarded by reducing copays. This cuts down the overall cost of health care later on by catching medical problems early on.
The success of this plan so far has prompted the federal government to extend HIP through 2030, making it the first time the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved a state’s Medicaid waiver for a comprehensive health benefits program for a period of 10 years.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services, I am very pleased to see Indiana receive this extension. Under conservative leadership, Indiana has been able to empower hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers to take control of their health care, and now they will be able to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
To learn more about HIP, click here.