Harris calls on FSSA, Braun to pause Medicaid disenrollments for Hoosiers in disaster zones
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) is calling on the FSSA and Gov. Mike Braun to ensure Hoosiers in disaster-affected areas of the state can keep their Medicaid coverage and in-home care in the wake of severe weather.
On Aug. 11, multiple parts of the state were hit by a derecho and historic flooding, killing at least seven Hoosiers and displacing more than 1,000. President Trump declared a federal major disaster declaration for 21 counties on Aug. 15. In Northwest Indiana, the storms caused the largest power outage in NIPSCO's history. Tens of thousands of residents in that area remained without power for nearly two weeks.
Harris is joining other House Democrats in calling on the state to take three specific actions for residents in the affected counties:
Pause procedural Medicaid terminations. Direct FSSA to suspend disenrollments for beneficiaries in disaster-declared counties who cannot complete a renewal or return requested paperwork because of the storm, so no eligible Hoosier loses coverage over a form that was washed away, a notice that never arrived or lack of access to the virtual FSSA Benefits Portal.
Extend deadlines for waiver level-of-care assessments. Extend the deadlines for level-of-care assessments and reassessments under Indiana's Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers, and allow them to be completed by phone or video, so seniors, people with disabilities and medically fragile Hoosiers do not lose in-home service.
Use every available tool to do it. Move now on the steps the state can take on its own, and pursue federal flexibilities, including an 1135 waiver and a disaster relief state plan amendment, that make these protections airtight.
"Two weeks after these storms rolled through Northwest Indiana, many of us are just getting back to some sense of normalcy," Harris said. "It's cruel to even consider kicking an eligible person off of Medicaid or to remove in-home care after what many of our neighbors have been through. Since Aug. 11, many Hoosiers have simply been trying to survive in their homes. People have lost food and medication, and some have had thousands of dollars' worth of damage impact their homes. It's hard to blame them if they forgot — or simply lost — paperwork in the wake of this disaster. The least we can do as a state is ensure vulnerable Hoosiers don't lose yet another necessity as a result of these storms."