Now that the January 1 start date on policies under the Affordable Care Act has passed, over a million Americans now have health insurance through the exchanges, with thousands more enrolling every day. There is one group, however, that sits in the income gap between 27% and 100% of poverty, that is being completely ignored in Indiana.
That group consists of over 300,000 Hoosiers; all of whom will continue to go without insurance due to the decision by Governor Pence to not expand Medicaid under the ACA. Here are two steps the Governor could take to dramatically increase the number of insured Hoosiers, as well as bring economic benefits to the state:
Open a state health exchangeI think we could do a better job than Washington in using the machinery of the Affordable Care Act to help protect the lives of Hoosiers. The governor needs to reconsider his actions in refusing to have a state-run exchange. At the very least, I believe that Indiana needs to do a better job of informing Hoosiers about the details of the federal health care law and how we can benefit from it. Other states are making this effort. Indiana should, too.
Expand Medicaid in IndianaThe Healthy Indiana Plan is not a real solution for Hoosiers. It insures fewer people and at a higher cost than under Medicaid expansion. If we expand Medicaid, we will not only close the gap of uncovered Hoosiers, but also create jobs and save money.
As of January 1, Indiana is now officially an “island of the uninsured,” leaving us unequipped to compete for the top talent in the Midwest.
This can be fixed. Our leaders simply need to look beyond politics and see the impact these actions will have on real people.