Indiana Secures Ten-year extension of Healthy Indiana Plan

Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced that Indiana has received approval to continue its successful alternative to traditional Medicaid expansion—the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP)—for ten more years. This allows the state to continue health coverage for more than 572,000 low-income adult Hoosiers.
Additionally, the approval from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grants five-year extensions of some of the newer components of Indiana’s HIP program that have provided treatment for substance use disorder and serious mental illness for 88,000 Hoosiers across all Medicaid programs.
HIP is a platform for certainty during the pandemic. Members continue coverage during a public health emergency and all cost sharing has been suspended. The program engages members to be active participants in their health care coverage. In 2018, members made more than 545,000 visits for preventive services, and mammograms and vaccinations are at record highs for members. The program combats Indiana’s top contributor to chronic disease – smoking – by waiving copays and covering all therapies.
In a direct effort to support mothers and their babies, HIP Maternity provides full health coverage services – including prenatal services, dental, behavior health, and substance use disorder treatment – at no cost to the member for the duration of her pregnancy and 60 days postpartum.
Typically, the state’s waiver to renew HIP is reviewed and approved every three to four years. Yesterday’s approval runs through December 2030. It marks the first time the federal agency has approved a state’s Medicaid waiver for a comprehensive health benefits program for a period of ten years.
Earlier this year, CMS approved the HIP Workforce Bridge program, which establishes a new, unique transitional phase for HIP members. As they return to the workforce and to employer insurance or other health coverage, members can continue to use their HIP POWER accounts, which are similar to a health savings account.
Learn more about the state’s program and approval at www.HIP.in.gov.