(Via the Indiana Law Blog) Dan Carden, writing for the Northwest Indiana Times reports that the Pence administration has not been making any contingency plans for the possibility that the federal government will not approve the “Healthy Indiana” plan as a Medicaid substitute.
Readers may recall that Medicaid expansion was a key part of the health care reform effort. The Affordable Care Act would provide subsidies to those making more than 133% of the poverty level but unable to afford health insurance. The expansion of Medicaid was designed to cover those not currently eligible for Medicaid but making less than 133% of the poverty level. The Supreme Court, while it upheld the Affordable Care Act, struck down that part of the Medicaid expansion that effectively made it mandatory for states to adopt. Instead, Medicaid expansion is up to the states to decide. The federal government will foot the entire cost of the expansion for the first few years and the lion’s share of the expansion (80% – 90%, I think) after that. Of course, Congress, like any governing body, can change its mind in the future.
There are about 400,000 Hoosiers in this ACA/Medicaid doughnut hole. Governor Pence, of course, has political and policy objections to health care reform. Instead of going with the federally funded Medicaid expansion for 400,000 Hoosiers, he wants to stick with the “Healthy Indiana” plan that covers more like 36,000 Hoosiers. According to the Carden article, the Pence administration is not working on a Medicaid expansion alternative in case the federal government says, “no.”
As for the 400,000 Hoosiers set to be blocked from enrolling in traditional Medicaid and seemingly unlikely to have an Indiana alternative, Minott said they still have plenty of options to obtain health care.
“We will be making sure they are aware of the community health centers in their communities, free clinics that are available in multiple places around the state and other safety net-type resources,” Minott said.
Anyone with passing familiarity with our medical system might be skeptical as to how “plentiful” these “safety net-type” resources really are.
I phoned Pence’s office the other asking this exact question.
What is plan B after HHS tells you no just like they told Mitch Daniels no when he asked?
And stunningly they said there is no Plan B. Amazing what an incompetent and hate filled dumbass we have as Governor. We buy him health insurance and he turns around and won’t even allow to the federal govt to provide insurance to poor people.
And he claims to a Christian?
This man is an embarrassment to the people of this state and to its Christians. It turns out that he’s much stronger at being an ideologue than he is a person who endeavors to do justice, love mercy and humbly walk with God. To the contrary, his behavior smacks of arrogance and insensitivity, characteristics you don’t want in anyone, less a governor.
Poor in Indiana is not the same as poor anywhere else. In Indiana a person can live quite comfortably (not counting medical bills, anyway) on around $7,000 a year. If you’re married and living together, probably $11,000. And if you don’t work and therefore don’t need a car, it’s about half that. This is well below the federal poverty guidelines.
You take too much out of the coffers and eventually you’ll find there’s nothing left. Make people who think they are poor but are really not (the 25, 30, 35 thousand a year people Romney was talking about) pay and it will be more accessible to the ones who really need it. The Healthy Indiana Program fits Indiana better and Pence would use the Medicaid funding to expand it to everyone eligible rather than the impossible waiting list it is now.