Health-related statehouse bills earn bipartisan backing

Several pieces of legislation aimed at improving access to health care are getting bicameral and bipartisan support in the 2023 Indiana General Assembly.

Senators on Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 1, a priority of Senate Republican leaders to codify mental health services and support in the state. From its inception, it's enjoyed Democratic approval and ardent advocacy from Republican Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.

Two additional health-related Senate bills propose easing access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid insurance coverage and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Senate Bill 334 earned unanimous approval from the full Senate on Monday. Authored by Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, it would simplify the SNAP application process for Hoosiers ages 60 and older, as well as those with certain disabilities. It extends eligibility for 36 months instead of the current 12, with a requirement to report any income changes during that time. Yoder said 6.6% of Hoosiers 60 and older are food insecure.

SB 334 advances to the Indiana House for review and consideration.

"It reduces the amount of time that this vulnerable population has to reapply," Yoder told The Journal Gazette. "To put this in perspective, the application process had been 19 pages, and now it's going to go down to two pages. It will take a one-year process to three for eligibility."

Health care access is the purpose of SB 376. Authored by Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, it would make about 6,000 children and 600 pregnant women newly eligible for Medicaid coverage or CHIP benefits.

Under current Indiana law, new Hoosiers – immigrants who have recently arrived and are lawfully residing – must wait five years to qualify for either program. SB 376 makes immigrants who qualify for such benefits immediately eligible. The Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children voted in October to recommend the statutory change.

In 2022, Fort Wayne's Neighborhood Health served more than 20,000 patients, 30% of whom indicated they spoke best in a language other than English, Angie Zaegel, the organization's president and CEO, told The Journal Gazette.

"Some of our prenatal patients are lawful immigrants in the five-year waiting period who do not qualify for Medicaid until the time of labor and delivery," Zaegel said in an email. "If they are uninsured but a high-risk pregnancy, there may be difficulty accessing more specialized maternal child care or drugs that may be needed to support a healthy birth outcome.

"It's truly unfortunate because we are talking about the health of an unborn child who more than likely will be a legal citizen at birth. The passage of SB 376 would be of great benefit to our patients."

SB 376 unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Family and Children Services last week. It was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee for review, though state costs are estimated to increase between $3.8 million and $5 million.

If it appears to long-time followers of the General Assembly that health care is getting more attention this session than in recent years, it is, Yoder said.

"And I want to say it is (the result) of a wake-up call from the special session this summer, where people realized that Hoosiers are tired of having access to health care, for example, being taken away from them," she said.

The General Assembly passed a near-total ban on abortion in August, which Gov. Eric Holcomb quickly signed. The law is being challenged in the courts, and it is currently not in effect.

That same month, the Governor's Public Health Commission announced it was recommending more than $240 million in funding for Indiana's public health system. County health departments have one of the lowest expenditures per capita in the nation, and many workforces are ill equipped to deal with communicable diseases and other health issues they face.

Asking for less than the commission's original suggestion, Holcomb is seeking $120 million in fiscal year 2024 and another $227 million in fiscal 2025 for public health services throughout the state.

SB 1, the behavioral health access plan, and SB 4, the public health funding proposal, must be a part of the state's next two-year budget. Without the appropriate funding to support access to health services, Indiana will not succeed in accomplishing the quality-of-life outcomes the governor and lawmakers so desire, and Hoosiers so deserve.