Articles

Indiana Senate approves Medicaid expansion

The Indiana Senate voted Tuesday to expand Medicaid using a state-run program, as lawmakers and Gov. Mike Pence continue negotiating how the state should cover an estimated 400,000 low-income residents.

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Legislators struggle to nail down cost of health care expansion

The cost of health care for an additional 400,000 low income residents is something nobody in the Indiana Statehouse seems to be able to agree upon this year, even as the crucial decision about whether to expand Medicaid bears down on lawmakers midway through their annual session.

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House, Pence split on state’s Medicaid expansion

Gov. Mike Pence is battling with House lawmakers over expanding health care coverage for roughly 400,000 Indiana residents, amid concerns that the state's health care program for the poor won't be able to handle the flood of new enrollees.

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U.S. audit: Indiana should refund $5.8M to Medicaid

A federal audit released Friday recommends Indiana's human services agency refund more than $5.8 million in Medicaid funds because Logansport State Hospital did not show it had complied with special conditions for psychiatric hospitals.

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Pence pushes state solutions for health care

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is asking the federal government to approve a three-year extension of the Healthy Indiana Plan health savings accounts in lieu of an expansion of a federal Medicaid system he calls "broken."

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Pressure rises on lawmakers to expand Medicaid

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.

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Illinois company to hire 50 in Indy for Medicaid drug contract

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.

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Medicaid expansion could cost $54M a year

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.

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Assessment fees benefit Indy hospitals

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.

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Low enrollment clouds Healthy Indiana Plan

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.

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Will Medicaid expansion actually work?

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.

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Appeals court strikes down Indiana’s Medicaid dental cap

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.

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Bill for Medicaid expansion? $516M a year

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.

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