Another red state just caved on Obamacare [View all]

[babylonsister]

Last edited Thu May 15, 2014, 10:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Another red state just caved on Obamacare

Updated by Adrianna McIntyre on May 15, 2014, 4:00 p.m. ET @onceuponA


Despite vocal opposition to Obamacare, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana just joined the ranks of conservative state officials willing to compromise with the federal government to expand health coverage for their states' poorest residents.


So, is Indiana signing up for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion?

Yep, but don't expect the governor to frame it that way. "From the very beginning of my tenure as governor, we've been saying no to the Affordable Care Act in Indiana," Pence said at today's announcement. "Medicaid is not a program we need to expand, it is a program we need to change."

Pence has proposed to expand an existing state program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, to extend affordable coverage to all Hoosiers below 138 percent of the federal poverty line. Indiana would pay for that expansion using Obamacare's Medicaid expansion funds.

Healthy Indiana is popular with its beneficiaries, but the program would have to change to become Obamacare-compliant. Right now, for example, it imposes annual and lifetime dollar limits, doesn't cover maternity care, and requires monthly contributions from most enrollees. The Department of Health and Human Services made it clear that some of these rules were unacceptable if Indiana wanted federal funds for a full Medicaid expansion.

He's billing this move as an "alternative" to Medicaid expansion, because the state is seeking permission from the feds revamp the Healthy Indiana Plan. But Indiana's special expansion still needs to play by Obamacare's rules.

more...

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/15/5716350/indianas-expanding-medicaid-thats-a-big-deal

fyi, Ezra Klein's new site.