Indiana lawmakers want to address Medicaid spending by overhauling the state’s Medicaid expansion program. However, testimony and discussion so far has included misinformation and misleading information on the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP. Medicaid experts and advocates break down the facts about the state and federal program.

Federally Qualified Health Centers serve an estimated 700,000 people in Indiana, most earn low incomes and half are on Medicaid. Now, those centers say they face uncertainty as potential changes to federal funding and Medicaid loom large.

Indiana lawmakers want to address rising Medicaid costs in the state budget by overhauling the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The Senate approved legislation that would make several significant changes to the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP.

Senate Bill 2 still makes major changes to the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP. That includes reintroducing Indiana's previously halted work requirements and an enrollment cap.

A House committee approved a bill that would make several funding changes to Indiana’s Medicaid expansion program. House Bill 1586 was supported by key health care stakeholders, such as the Insurance Institute of Indiana and the Indiana Hospital Association.

Senate Republicans want to overhaul the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP, citing concerns around the Medicaid forecast. Lawmakers might need support from the federal government to implement part of the bill — but even with that support, it would likely have no impact on the forecast.

A potential overhaul of the state’s Medicaid expansion program would include changes such as caps on enrollment and limits on lifetime eligibility. The overhaul would also reintroduce a proposal that the federal government previously blocked because it could lead to a loss of coverage.

Indiana is one of 12 states that are vulnerable to Medicaid coverage loss if federal funding is reduced under the upcoming Trump administration.

Several lawmakers want the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to remove a policy from the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP, that has been linked to loss of coverage for Medicaid members. The calls to reevaluate POWER account contributions come as the state continues to appeal a federal ruling against the policy.

A federal judge has granted a motion that will allow Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP, members to maintain their HIP Plus coverage while the state appeals a federal ruling. The program’s approval was vacated by the judge in June, but the state has been working to appeal the ruling.