Statewide, the Healthy Indiana Plan provides health-care coverage for 370,000 low-income Hoosiers.
The plan is a conservative alternative to the broken Medicaid system and was the nation’s first consumer-driven health-care program for Medicaid beneficiaries that is centered on personal responsibility and patient control over health care choices.
District 48 State Senator Mark Messmer of Jasper says the plan made headlines when it was implemented back in 2008 and expanded in 2014 as HIP 2.0. He says this year, lawmakers put the principles of the plan into state law by passing Senate Enrolled Act 165.
Messmer points out that the plan incentivize responsible use of health-care dollars by allowing participants to reduce their out-of-pocket contributions if there is unused money in their health care account at the end of the year and also encourages participants to engage in preventative care, which leads to healthier Hoosiers and lowers long-term health care costs.
He says as a result of extensive negotiations with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the revamped plan stays true to consumer-driven principles, empowering Hoosiers to take personal responsibility for their own health.
Folks can visit www.in.gov/fssa/hip to learn more about the program.
And as always, feel free to contact Messmer’s office directly with questions and concerns by email at
Senator.Messmer@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.
