The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved an unprecedented 10-year continuation of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) under its 1115 Demonstration Waiver program. The approval came with few variations from Indiana’s waiver request, and also included a 5-year extension of the current 1115 Substance Use Disorder waiver.
Two noteworthy exceptions were the conditional and limited approvals of the community engagement and non-eligibility period (also known as “lock-out”) provisions. Both are currently awaiting Supreme Court rulings that could impact their implementation. As such, CMS approved those provisions on the condition that they successfully clear the Supreme Court. Even then, they were only granted a 5-year approval by CMS.
An additional exception from the state’s request was the new HIP Workforce Bridge program, which provides funds to assist in paying for healthcare and health coverage when a HIP member becomes income ineligible. CMS approved this program earlier in the year under a different waiver request and expressed a desire to consider its extension separately at this time.
Governor Holcomb issued comments in support of the renewal, stating that “Today’s extension empowers more than half a million Hoosiers to continue receiving quality health care coverage from our innovative HIP program. As a national model for a state-led, consumer-driven approach, HIP helps Hoosiers experience improved health outcomes and better lives.”