Indiana health care open enrollment deadline nears

Hoosiers have fewer than six weeks until open enrollment closes for 2014 through the Indiana Health Insurance Marketplace.

Health care open enrollment ends March 31, and the Indiana Hospital Association is encouraging those in need of coverage to apply through the program operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services before the deadline.

Almost 48,000 Indiana residents have enrolled in any one of four coverage plans since open enrollment began Oct. 1, according to a press release.

“Hospitals and other statewide groups are looking for ways to educate people as we approach the final weeks of enrollment,” IHA President Doug Leonard said in the  release.

For coverage to begin April 1, people must apply by March 15. The March 31 deadline
will ensure coverage beginning May 1.

About 880,000 Hoosiers younger than 65 don’t have health insurance, according to the
release.

Eligibility is generally available to middle-income people younger than 65 who are not covered for health care benefits through their employer, Medicaid or
Medicare.

All plans must cover doctor visits, hospital stays, preventive care and prescriptions, and no one can be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition, according to the release.

People who do not enroll in a coverage plan by March 31 will not receive health care coverage until the next enrollment period begins and may be subject to a penalty fee, according to the release.

Gov. Mike Pence is still pursuing expansion of the Healthy Indiana Plan, his alternative to Medicaid.

The State of Indiana submitted a waiver request last year seeking both an extension of the current HIP and permission to pursue expansion of health coverage using HIP as a model.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services granted an extension of the current program in September 2013.

“We are greatly encouraged with the progress being made toward coverage expansion using the Healthy Indiana Plan to help thousands of Hoosiers,” IHA said in a press release.

Rebecca Kimberly