INDIANAPOLIS – Republican senators on Tuesday unanimously greenlit a bill to impose various Medicaid restrictions like work requirements on an insurance program for moderate-income Hoosiers between the ages of 19 and 64.
Another provision would cap the program — meaning hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers could lose coverage.
Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Mishawaka), the chief budget architect for Senate Republicans, pitched Senate Bill 2 as one to “right size” Medicaid, the fastest-growing portion of the state budget. “We have to change the plan because it grew. So we don’t have a choice,” said Mishler.
Over the last four years, costs for Medicaid — of which the federal government pays roughly two-thirds — have grown by $5 billion and outpaced revenue growth, he said. “You’re going to see that when we do the budget that Medicaid and (the Department of Child Services) are going to suck up most of our revenue and we’re not going to have a lot left to do other programs,” Mishler warned.
Enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan, which covers moderate-income adults, has nearly doubled from 390,000 pre-COVID to more than 750,000 in January.
Senate Democrats universally opposed the measure, which moved to the House on a 40-9 vote.
Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said the bill would limit the number of qualified Hoosiers who might benefit from the program. “We’re effectively killing the Medicaid expansion in Indiana as allowed under federal law,” Qaddoura said.
Get the Senate Bill 2 details and read more of the Whitney Downard story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
