Double Mitch Factor = More Insured Hoosiers

He's done it again - the hits just keep on coming!  My Man Mitch and his man Mitch (Roob) designed a cutting-edge health care plan for low-income Hoosiers that will set the stage for more widespread coverage for the uninsured with increased patient accountability.  The 2007 Indiana General Assembly paid for it with an increase in the cigarette tax.

"HIP", or the Healthy Indiana Plan, goes into effect next year to cover more of Indiana's uninsured than ever before.  What's unique about this plan is that it includes a Health Savings Account (HSA), a similar concept to Indiana's IDA, or Individual Development Account, whereby people pay into their own savings account to be used for their health care.  The Indiana Family Institute even played a role by offering research on HSAs in the design phase and also suggesting ways that FSSA could promote the program through the faith-based community once promotional activity was begun. 

The feds also gave Indiana a Medicaid waiver to help the parents of children who are currently insured -- a family approach to health insurance.  See more in the summary below and be sure to visit http://www.in.gov/fssa/hip for consumer information and application forms:

HHS grants Medicaid waiver for Healthy Indiana Plan.

The AP (12/15, Freking) reported that following a Medicaid waiver granted Friday by the Bush administration, low-income adults may now be eligible for a low-cost health savings account in Indiana. The administration "has long pushed health savings accounts as a way to slow the rising cost of medical care and extend basic coverage to the uninsured."

        According to Modern Healthcare (12/15), the waiver, which was granted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), "will extend health insurance to low-income parents of children now covered by Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as childless adults." Indiana's program, known as the Healthy Indiana Plan, requires that "enrollees' incomes must not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level or $20,420 for an individual and $41,300 for a family of four based on 2007 guidelines." Indiana anticipates that the plan "could help [provide] about 120,000 low-income, uninsured residents [with] access healthcare services."

        Congressional Quarterly (12/14) noted that HHS Secretary Secretary Michael O. Leavitt "praised the Indiana plan, adding that it is 'critical that every state in this nation be thinking of creative new ways to help residents gain access to healthcare, and, at the same time, working to make those ideas become reality.'"

Comments

I didn't realize you were so supportive of this plan. Isn't this funded by increasing taxes on smokers?

I still love this post...

http://veritasrex.typepad.com/veritas_rex/2007/10/smoking-for-the.html

[Sue Swayze]

Many of my colleagues are not so hot on the cigarette tax increase, but do applaud the HSA portion of patient accountability as a policy directive. I, myself, totally agree with better alignment of the revenue stream with the cost center: smoking is a huge contributor of the massive Medicaid costs our taxes cover. This approach helps spread the cost more evenly to smokers and I am perfectly fine with that. Personally, I have never viewed "sin taxes" in the same light as property, sales, income, etc. and, frankly, I hope that alcohol is next.