HHS Approves New Healthy Indiana Medicaid Demonstration

INDIANAPOLIS—On Friday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar joined Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb to announce the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approval of Indiana’s Section 1115 waiver, known as the Healthy Indiana Plan or HIP.

The waiver has now been expanded to include a requirement for work or other forms of community engagement for able-bodied, working age Medicaid enrollees, just the second such Medicaid waiver in history to include this mechanism, which has shown success in other HHS programs at moving beneficiaries from welfare to work.

The Healthy Indiana extension also includes administrative reforms as well as a new funding authority to expand treatment options for Medicaid enrollees struggling with substance abuse, including opioid addiction.

“Today’s approval is the result of the hard work of Governor Holcomb, his team, and our team at CMS, and serves as a testament to Indiana’s ongoing commitment to improving the lives of its Medicaid beneficiaries,” said Secretary Azar. “We look forward to collaborating with Indiana on this next evolution of HIP, which serves as another example of the Trump Administration’s support of state-led efforts and innovative reforms to make our HHS programs really work for Americans.”

“A decade after it launched, Healthy Indiana has become the national model for a state-led, consumer-driven healthcare program that meets citizens’ healthcare needs, provides choices and improves lives,” Governor Holcomb said. “This approval continues coverage for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers and unlocks funding to expand resources to help people struggling with addiction.”

On January 11, CMS announced new policy guidance to support state efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health outcomes and promote independence by incentivizing community engagement among able-bodied, working-age Medicaid beneficiaries. The policy responds to numerous state requests to test programs through Medicaid demonstration projects under which work and other types of community engagement would be a condition of Medicaid coverage for that particular population. 

Indiana’s demonstration program is the second one of its kind to be approved, following Kentucky’s on January 12.