• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • 1-800-960-1371
  • Agent Login
  • Quoting Tools
    • Life
    • Senior
  • Free Marketing Guide
  • Blog

AgentLink

With AgentLink, you have easy access to the carriers you want and the tools and resources you need to offer the best to your clients.

  • Products
        • Life
          • Info
          • Products
          • AML Training
          • Quoting Tool
        • Senior
          • Info
          • Products
          • Certifications
          • Compliance
          • Quoting Tool
        • Group Benefits
          • Info
          • Products
          • Our Process
          • Quote Request Form
        • Individual Benefits
          • Info
          • Products
          • Our Process
          • Enrollment Tool
        • See our Concierge Services
  • Tools
  • Resources
    • Marketing Guide
    • Carrier Links
    • Group Compliance Resources
    • Sales Webinars
    • Training Webinars
    • Marketing Webinars
    • Errors & Omission Program
  • About
  • Contact Us
  •  1-800-960-1371
  • Life Quoting Tool
  • Senior Quoting Tool
  • Marketing Guide
  • Blog
Previous
Next

Indiana Governor Promotes Healthy Indiana Plan As A Potential “Model For The Country.”

Indiana Governor Mike Pence submitted a piece to the Fort Wayne (IN) News-Sentinel (7/7) in which he touts his Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 (HIP 2.0) as a potential “model Medicaid plan for the whole country.” He believes HIP 2.0’s projected success comes from its “consumer-driven elements” and it’s ability to cut healthcare costs via health savings accounts. Indiana still waits for approval of the waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Full article:

Mike Pence, governor of Indiana

Last week, the state of Indiana submitted its proposal for the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If approved, the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 (HIP 2.0) would replace traditional Medicaid for low-income, able-bodied Hoosier adults. Unlike traditional Medicaid, which is government-driven, HIP 2.0 is consumer-driven. It allows participants to take greater control over their own health care decisions through POWER accounts, which are essentially health savings accounts.

I have been encouraged by the positive responses I have heard from people across Indiana since we announced HIP 2.0. As national leaders in health care innovation, Hoosiers understand that empowering people to take greater ownership of their health care choices is better than government-driven health care.

HIP 2.0 builds upon the success of our current Healthy Indiana Plan, which provides about 45,000 low-income Hoosiers with consumer-driven health care. The program has cut costs and increased health care outcomes for people whose previous health care options were either traditional Medicaid or living uninsured.

Medicaid is not only broke, it’s broken. I have consistently opposed expanding traditional Medicaid because I believe doing so would condemn more Hoosiers to substandard health care and threaten the fiscal health of our state. A study last year in Oregon showed increased emergency room usage among the Medicaid population and health outcomes that were no better than among the uninsured population. Other studies have found similar outcomes.

Medicaid is not a program we need to expand. It is a program we need to change.

The Healthy Indiana Plan is the change Medicaid needs. Seven percent fewer HIP participants use the emergency room than people in traditional Medicaid. HIP participants choose generic drugs at a higher rate than people covered by other private insurance plans, and 93 percent make contributions to their POWER accounts on time.

One-third regularly ask their health care providers about the cost of services. Given what research has shown about how health savings accounts reduce health care spending, we can expect that HIP 2.0 will create savings for Indiana taxpayers over time.

While important, cost control is but one benefit of HIP. Even more important is the way HIP has improved the quality of health care for participants. Sixty percent obtain preventive services such as annual physicals and flu shots, a rate similar to that of the general commercial marketplace, and 98 percent say they would enroll in HIP again.

Because of these positive results, my administration has worked diligently to preserve HIP’s framework in the HIP 2.0 proposal submitted to the federal government. In fact, we have strengthened the consumer-driven elements of the program to provide Hoosiers with a better set of choices.

HIP 2.0 introduces a new plan that helps low-income working Hoosiers purchase coverage through their employers. HIP 2.0 also offers two benefit plans with varying degrees of coverage. POWER account contributions are required for all HIP members based on income level. Those with incomes above the federal poverty level risk losing their coverage if they do not make contributions. Those below, should they stop making contributions, must make copays and receive fewer benefits until they resume contributing to their accounts. In many cases, the copays would be more expensive than making contributions, providing an incentive to make contributions and retain better coverage.

It is critically important that we preserve our consumer-driven framework in HIP 2.0 as an alternative to traditional Medicaid. I will not sacrifice the proven success of the Healthy Indiana Plan to efforts by federal officials to expand traditional Medicaid in our state. If the federal government tries to force us to eliminate the consumer-driven aspects of HIP 2.0 or water down our proposal in any way, we will walk away.

I have long advocated for the repeal of Obamacare, but any sensible repeal must be accompanied by market-based reforms and a flexible block grant program for states to administer Medicaid as they see fit.

HIP 2.0 is the closest thing America has seen to a Medicaid block grant program that works and will serve as a model for the nation in future debates about healthcare reform. As we submit this waiver, I remain hopeful that Indiana will be given the opportunity to show how Medicaid can be reformed to provide the best health care access possible to low-income Hoosiers

Filed Under: Medicaid, News and Updates

Previous Post: « Thousands still lack PPACA coverage
Next Post: How to frame annuities more attractively »

You might also enjoy...

life insurance for seniorsWhat kind of Life Insurance Products are a good fit for Seniors?

At its core, life insurance is a contract between a policy holder and a life insurance company where the insured agrees to pay for a policy on a regular basis and the insurer in turn agrees to pay a sum of money to beneficiaries upon death […]

Read More
Health Care ChangesStaying Aware of Health Care Legislation Changes

We’ve made it our aim to keep our agents– and anyone who follows our updates– informed about the many changes to health care legislation this year. We are so committed to this, we have even retained a health care reform attorney at AgentLink. We want you […]

Read More

Don’t forget to browse the free tools and resources we offer our agents and prospects, including our popular online quoting tools

Download the Digital Marketing Guide

Go to Resources

Get Contracted Now

Contract with us, to get appointed with your desired carriers

Please enter your email address below  to stay up-to-date with changes in the industry.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2023 · Showcase Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • About
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Life
  • Senior
  • Group Benefits
  • Concierge Services

Agent Login

Resources

Tools

Free Marketing Guide

1-800-960-1371

AgentLink Kentucky Office
2001 Lake Point Way, PO Box 23570
Louisville, KY 40223
Toll Free: 800.960.1371
Direct: 502.245.1371
Fax: 502.245.0978

AgentLink Indiana Office
3077 East 98th Street, Suite 135
Indianapolis, IN 46280
Toll Free: 866.462.9067
Direct: 317.569.8490
Fax: 317.569.8705

Copyright © 2021 AgentLink. All Rights Reserved.
Website Design and Digital Marketing by The Marketing Squad

  • Senior Products
  • Quoting Tool
  • Get Contracted
  • Brittney: 502-245-1371
  • Life Products
  • Quoting Tool
  • Get Contracted
  • Scott: (502) 245-1371
We use cookies to make our website a better place. Cookies help to provide a more personalized experience for you and web analytics for us. To learn more, and to see a full list of cookies we use, check out our Privacy Policy.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Products
    ▼
    • Life
      ▼
      • Info
      • Products
      • AML Training
      • Quoting Tool
    • Senior
      ▼
      • Info
      • Products
      • Certifications
      • Compliance
      • Quoting Tool
    • Group Benefits
      ▼
      • Info
      • Products
      • Our Process
      • Quote Request Form
    • Individual Benefits
      ▼
      • Info
      • Products
      • Our Process
      • Enrollment Tool
    • See our Concierge Services
  • Tools
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Marketing Guide
    • Carrier Links
    • Group Compliance Resources
    • Sales Webinars
    • Training Webinars
    • Marketing Webinars
    • Errors & Omission Program
  • About
  • Contact Us
  •  1-800-960-1371
  • Life Quoting Tool
  • Senior Quoting Tool
  • Marketing Guide
  • Blog