Group plans rally in support of Medicaid expansion

Cover Indiana will stage a rally today to encourage the Indiana legislature to adopt a Medicaid expansion.

Indiana was one of many states that didn’t expand Medicaid and is now suffering a coverage gap for many of its residents, according to a press release from Cover Indiana.

Cover Indiana is an education and outreach campaign to ensure all Hoosiers have access to health care coverage.

The campaign is comprised of consumers, consumer advocacy organizations, religious groups, health care providers and business and labor organizations committed to building grass-roots support for increasing access to health care coverage.

“We estimate that 348,900 Hoosiers fall in this coverage gap,” Mark Fairchild,  president of the IN Coalition for Human Services and member of Cover Indiana, said. “It includes those whose income falls within 100 to 138 percent of federal poverty level who do not have some form of insurance.”

These Hoosiers do not qualify for Medicaid and do not earn enough to purchase insurance in the new marketplace, Fairchild said.

Expanding coverage would also create thousands of new jobs, reduce spending on health care premiums, make room in the state budget and improve the health of those who would be receiving coverage, according to the release.

Fairchild said the aim of today’s event is to give legislators reason for action.

“We really want to sell the message on day one,” Fairchild said.

Fairchild said they are not concerned with what the name of Indiana’s Medicaid program will be or whether it takes the form of something like the Healthy Indiana Plan.

“HIP doesn’t conform with all of the standards that Medicaid requires,” Fairchild said.

HIP sets lifetime limits on care that would effect people with long-term illnesses that require treatments such as kidney dialysis or chemotherapy.

HIP also removes individuals from the program if they don’t pay their co-pays.

The state was given a waiver by the federal government to continue the HIP.

“The HIP waiver from the federal government only lasts for a year, so now is the time to advocate for implementation,” Fairchild said.

— Brianna Meyer