Health care bill passes committee

FROM IDS REPORTS

A bill that would pave the way for the amalgamation of Medicaid and the Healthy Indiana Plan passed the House Committee on Public Health on Monday.

The governor is proposing to make Medicaid available to about 400,000 more uninsured people.

Senate Bill 551 would allow the state to negotiate with the federal government on the Healthy Indiana Plan as a substitute for the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, according to a prepared statement from the bill’s author, Sen. Pat Miller, R-Indianapolis.

According to the statement, the move will depend on if the federal government allows Hoosiers to implement a more cost-effective program.

The state already operates such a program, Miller said. HIP has provided 100,000 low-income Indiana residents with health insurance since 2008.

“While I worry that changes made to SB 551 by the House committee will reduce the executive branch’s ability to negotiate with the federal government, I look forward to this bill moving forward...” she said.

— Anu Kumar