Members of Indiana's congressional delegation today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing strong support for the State of Indiana's request for a three-year waiver to extend the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP). The State's current one-year waiver is set to expire on December 31, 2013.
In the letter, the members wrote, "HIP is an innovative, consumer-driven program designed to empower members to take personal responsibility for their health care decisions...Absent approval by CMS to continue HIP into 2014, the program will be forced to cease coverage for its approximately 40,000 members. As the process of dismantling the HIP program would take several months to complete, we respectfully request a prompt approval of the State's waiver application to avoid this result."
The full text of the letter follows:
May 31, 2013
The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Sebelius:
As Members of the Indiana Congressional Delegation, we write in support of the State of Indiana's application for renewal of its 1115 Medicaid Waiver to extend the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) for calendar years 2014-2016. The State's waiver application is nearly identical in substance to the current one-year waiver set to expire on December 31, 2013.
HIP is an innovative, consumer-driven program designed to empower members to take personal responsibility for their health care decisions. The program has achieved a number of positive results since its inception, including high growth in preventative and primary care services and lower non-emergency utilization of hospital emergency rooms. HIP is also extremely popular among members, as evidenced by its over 90 percent member satisfaction rate.
Absent approval by CMS to continue HIP into 2014, the program will be forced to cease coverage for its approximately 40,000 members. As the process of dismantling the HIP program would take several months to complete, we respectfully request a prompt approval of the State's waiver application to avoid this result.
The State's waiver application also contains a request to expand the HIP program to cover newly-eligible individuals under the Affordable Care Act. As the State considers how some form of Medicaid expansion might be designed to meet both the health needs and fiscal concerns of Hoosiers, it would be helpful for the State to know whether HIP can be used as a potential coverage vehicle.
We remain committed to improving the health of Hoosiers, and it is in this spirit that we request a prompt resolution to the State of Indiana's waiver application.
Sincerely,
Dan Coats
United States Senator
Susan W. Brooks
Member of Congress
Larry Bucshon
Member of Congress
Luke Messer
Member of Congress
Todd Rokita
Member of Congress
Marlin Stutzman
Member of Congress
Jackie Walorski
Member of Congress
Todd Young
Member of Congress