Pence staffer promotes HIP 2.0 at NAACP meeting

May 17--More than a year after a well-publicized roll out, the state's revamped Healthy Indiana Plan is serving more Hoosiers and boasts high member satisfaction, a special assistant to Gov. Mike Pence said Monday night.

Tony Kirkland, whose duties include promoting HIP 2.0, spoke about the program during the Greater Terre Haute Branch NAACP's monthly meeting at the Vigo County Public Library.

"This is a winner for the state," said Kirkland, who has also served as vice president of the Indiana State Minority Health Coalition. "And I'm proud to say it works."

The program replaces Medicaid for non-disabled, income-qualified residents ages 19-64. Dental and vision coverage is included through HIP 2.0, unlike the original plan, which is still available.

Residents with annual incomes of up to $16,590 for an individual, $22,371 for a couple or $33,934 for a family of four are generally eligible to participate in HIP 2.0, according to the program's guidelines. The figures are based on the 2016 federal poverty level.

Since February 2015 when the revamped version debuted, the program's enrollment has increased to 382,000 from 370,000, Kirkland told the meeting. A state survey found 94 percent of members would re-enroll, he said.

The original plan launched in 2008, and the additional coverage came after the Pence administration rejected the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.

During a question-and-answer period, NAACP members sought clarification on the difference between the ACA and HIP 2.0.

Kirkland argued the state didn't reject the federal health care program, but instead sought another way to provide coverage for more people.

"We're looking at a simpler way to make sure that everybody gets covered on it," he said. "The Affordable Care Act is ... supposed to be designed for all of us to be on it, but there's some of us who can't get it."

"If I lose my job tomorrow, I will qualify right off the bat," he continued.

Some Democrats have argued that more low-income Hoosiers would have access to health care if the state adopted the ACA provisions instead of making its own plan.

HIP 2.0 members are required to make monthly contributions to an account similar to a health savings plan, known as the Personal Wellness and Responsibility Account. The first $2,500 of covered medical expenses is paid for out of that account, according to the guidelines.

Contributions are determined by the member's income, and can be made by the member's employer or a non-profit organization.

HIP 2.0 offers basic and plus levels of coverage. Both include doctor's visits, hospital care, therapies, medications, prescriptions and medical equipment, but only HIP Plus covers vision and dental care, as well as bariatric surgery.

The program can help provide health care to clients of Kelli Fuller, who attended the meeting. Fuller is an insurance navigator for the homeless through Hamilton Center.

She faces the challenge of a transient population, which often makes it difficult to determine where a client has enrolled in the program.

Hospitals can make presumptive eligibility determinations for homeless people and other eligible groups, allowing the patients to receive temporary coverage for 30 days. But the coverage stops, Fuller said, if the member fails to apply for HIP Plus, which costs $12 per year.

Fuller wants to see a grace period for homeless people to continue receiving coverage while they come up with the money.

"And most of them are really desperate, they need health care," she said during the meeting.

Reporter Nick Hedrick can be reached at 812-231-4232 or [email protected]. Follow Nick on Twitter @TribStarNick.

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