Up until now, Gov. Mike Pence and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature have been playing a game of poker with the Obama administration over a potential expansion of Indiana’s Medicaid program. But all of a sudden, Indiana’s hand just got quite a bit weaker.
Democratic leaders in the Indiana General Assembly are seeking expanded Medicaid coverage with the argument that it will lower health care costs statewide.
Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday that he has ruled out expanding Medicaid under the federal health care law unless Indiana gets approval to use state health savings accounts for the expansion.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agreed to a waiver that would allow the state to continue the program unchanged for a year.
Catamaran Corp. will add 50 jobs in Indianapolis over the next year to help it provide pharmacy-benefit-management services to the Indiana Medicaid program. The Illinois-based company will open an office downtown Tuesday to kick off its six-year, $60 million contract with the state.
Carmel-based ABC Homecare LLC closed last week after state and federal authorities cut off its access to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement due to deficiencies cited by the Indiana State Department of Health.
A new set of projections released Monday estimates that expanding Medicaid coverage as called for in President Obama’s 2010 health reform law would cost the state government less than $54 million per year on average over the next decade—far lower than projections issued by the actuarial firm hired by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration.
IU Health and Community enjoyed net gains of $267 million and $23 million, respectively, from the hospital assessment fee program during the fiscal year ended June 30.
Many Indiana Republicans want to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid coverage in Indiana to more low-income adults. But the program—which offers health insurance based on health savings accounts to uninsured adults—has managed to attract just one-third of the Hoosiers it was designed for and has cost about twice as much per enrollee as predicted.
It would be “absurd” and a “travesty” for Indiana not to expand its Medicaid program, according to two local hospital officials. And yet other health care leaders do not expect expanded Medicaid coverage to provide nearly as much help to uninsured Hoosiers as hoped.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a preliminary injunction that blocked the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration from enforcing a $1,000 annual limit on dental coverage. The agency had established it as a cost-cutting measure in 2011.
If Indiana expands its Medicaid program as called for under President Obama’s health reform law, it likely will hike state spending on the program an extra 13.5 percent—or $516 million annually—by 2020, according to the latest projections from Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman Inc.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' team of federal health care overhaul leaders told state lawmakers Wednesday that even without clear answers on the new law, it will cost the state hundreds of millions more in the coming years.
The Obama administration is giving states like Indiana a little flexibility in how to expand their Medicaid programs—but nothing like what state officials hoped for after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the law in late June.
Investors and analysts like the fact that WellPoint is playing more aggressively in government-sponsored health plans, such as Medicaid and Medicare, which are projected to be the key sectors for growth for the next several years.
While upholding President Obama’s health care law, the U.S. Supreme Court may have created a way out for states that do not want to expand their Medicaid programs. Whether Indiana decides to opt out remains to be seen.
A decision by Indiana to leave its Medicaid program unchanged could leave as many as 290,000 Hoosier adults, who would have been newly eligible for Medicaid coverage, with no good options.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the Affordable Care Act by the end of June. Here’s a roundup of how health care businesses would be affected under four different scenarios.
Myth prevents policymakers from attacking real problem of distributing funding.
Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. sees a $100 billion market in the states it serves to provide managed care for poor, elderly patients in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
