Still no word on whether the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will buy Gov. Mike Pence's proposal to fund the Healthy Indiana Plan as an alternative to expanding Medicaidfor an additional 440,000 Hoosiers.
A recent agreement between HHS and Arkansas allowing federal money to subsidize private insurance for that state's poor is seen by some as hope for a deal on HIP. But it's no sure thing. Lacking one, Indiana officials should take the federal government's offer to expand Medicaid to make sure all Hoosiers can get affordable insurance.
The Indiana General Assembly adjourns at the end of April. While there is no formal deadline for states to opt into Medicaid expansion, enrollment opens in October. The stakes are high particularly for poor, working Hoosiers who along with most other Americans must meet the Affordable Care Act's mandate for insurance coverage. They're high too for health care providers that now write off millions annually in charity care for the uninsured.
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