INDIANAPOLIS — No one yet knows what will become of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, under Republican President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.
But so long as the 2010 health law continues providing states with federal funds for expanded Medicaid eligibility, Gov. Eric Holcomb wants Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 to remain in business.
The Indiana health plan serving some 400,000 low-income and disabled individuals — which, unlike other states, requires most of them pay a monthly premium of up to 2 percent of their incomes to receive benefits — currently is slated to expire Jan. 31, 2018.
"Indiana has built a program that is delivering real results in a responsible, efficient and effective way," Holcomb said. "I look forward to maintaining the flexibility to grow this remarkably successful tool and to preserve our ability to respond to the unique needs of Hoosiers."
In its 92-page renewal application, the state also asks permission to charge higher premiums to tobacco users, add coverage for substance abuse treatment and offer job search benefits to HIP members.
"This next iteration will add more of what HIP does best: adding value for members who choose to engage in their health and incentivizing good, healthy choices," said Dr. Jennifer Walthall, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
There is no set timeline for HHS to respond to the state's renewal application.
Ultimately, renewal may prove unnecessary as Trump has nominated Seema Verma, the architect of Indiana's HIP 2.0 program, to lead Medicare and Medicaid policy nationwide.
She's expected to recommend that any GOP Obamacare replacement plan include a national HIP-like program or give states permanent authority to operate their own.
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