INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (ADAMS) – Hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage under a bill passed by the Indiana Senate. The bill would impose work requirements on the Healthy Indiana Plan for moderate-income people between 19 and 64 years old.
The plan has grown from 390,000 enrollees before the COVID-19 pandemic to over 680,000 now. Republicans say the costs have grown too high and cuts are needed.
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The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus issued the following statement regarding the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 2, which now moves to the House of Representatives:
“The Indiana Senate has passed SB 2, an attack on health care access that will strip thousands of Hoosiers of their coverage, punish working families and put even more financial strain on hospitals. The Indiana Senate Democratic Caucus strongly opposes this legislation and urges the Indiana House to stop SB 2 before it causes irreparable harm.
“For years, we have fought to ensure affordable, accessible health care for every Hoosier. We have offered solutions to make sure people stay covered, hospitals stay open and families stay financially secure. We have proposed responsible ways to fund health care programs without taking coverage away. But time and time again, those solutions are ignored.
“Governor Braun himself has said health care should be affordable and accessible. Yet SB 2 does the opposite. It makes care more expensive, harder to access, and leaves thousands with no coverage at all.
The Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) has an upwards of 680,000 people enrolled in it right now, yet SB 2 arbitrarily caps enrollment at 500,000—leaving 200,000 eligible Hoosiers without health care simply because Republicans have chosen to limit access.
SB 2 prohibits hospitals and providers from marketing or advertising about Medicaid eligibility, making it even harder for working families to understand their health care options.
Instead of ensuring coverage for eligible Hoosiers, this bill creates administrative barriers, requiring redundant eligibility checks that will push more people off Medicaid—not because they don’t qualify, but because of bureaucratic red tape.
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