Jackson opposes bill to slash participation in Medicaid

Today, April 8, the Indiana House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2, the Republican plan for Medicaid, by a vote of 66 to 28. The bill aims to slash participation in the Medicaid Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) program by increasing eligibility checks, establishing work requirements and limiting marketing for its services.

State Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond) released the following statement in opposition of the bill:

“This bill will kick people off their health care for very little tangible savings to the state. The money saved by identifying the small amount of wrongdoing is far smaller than the administrative cost of conducting quarterly eligibility checks. The additional red tape will only lead to bureaucratic waste and increased costs. 

“Senate Bill 2 is pointing the finger at enrollees for Medicaid fraud when they account for less than 0.1% of money recovered from fraud. Enrollees are far more often the victims of administrative fraud, and yet they are the ones being punished. What is with the obsession with villainizing our vulnerable populations instead of holding the real perpetrators of fraud accountable? 

“Medicaid is notoriously confusing and stressful for people just trying to get by and stay healthy. Instead of clearing things up, this proposal creates boundaries to care by requiring people to prove their eligibility four times a year. For those working multiple jobs to make ends meet for their family, adding stacks of paperwork to the to-do list multiple times a year is unrealistic. 

“Under SB 2, individuals who win as little as $3,000 in the lottery would be stripped of their Medicaid coverage. This punishes low-income Hoosiers for winning a one-time sum of money.

“In my district, some doctors are only in the office a few times a week and cancellations are frequent. If your coverage is up in the air and you don’t know if you’ll be able to pay for the appointment, you may have to face further delay. This will only exacerbate wait times and risk people facing deteriorating health conditions. 

“As a state, we should be looking out for Hoosiers. Instead of increasing accessibility for those just trying to survive, SB 2 will cause people to lose coverage when nothing about their conditions or status has changed. This is not only illogical, but also cruel.”