FSSA Halts HIP Enrollment

Indiana is cutting off enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan. The program has reached this year’s funding limit.

When the federal government reauthorized HIP, the health insurance program for low-income Hoosiers, last year, it required Indiana to lower the income eligibility ceiling from 200% of poverty – about $47,000 per year for a family of four – to 100% – roughly $23,000 per year. 

The state pays for the program through the tobacco tax, limiting its size to a monthly average of 45,000 people.  Earlier this year, enrollment was below that average, but the program has now swelled to about 52,000 people.  And the Family and Social Services Administration announced it will only enroll eligible Hoosiers who sent in applications before Thursday. 

FSSA spokesman Jim Gavin says there’s a remote chance more Hoosiers could enroll later this year.

“If something would happen where enrollment would dip significantly to where we saw that the average was going to be projected to come in below 45,000, it’s conceivable but not probable that we would open the program back up,” Gavin said.

The state is asking the federal government to approve HIP 2.0, which would significantly expand the program beginning next year using federal Medicaid dollars.