Holcomb Says He'll Release Health Care Impact Data Before Vote

Gov. Eric Holcomb indicated Tuesday he’ll publicly share information on the impact to the state of federal health care reform legislation. Though he says he’ll only do that when a vote in the U.S. Senate appears imminent.

Holcomb has previously evaded any commitment to releasing internal analysis of the impact federal health care legislation will have on Indiana.

The governor’s reasoning for not releasing those estimates remains the same.

“I just would like to see a bill that remains the same for more than a 24-hour period,” Holcomb says.

Holcomb’s denials include one to a request from U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana), who sought insight into the Indiana impact of the bill in his chamber.

Now, though, Holcomb says he will release the requested data ahead of any Senate vote on the health care reform bill.

“When I feel confident about a product that they will actually vote on, absolutely we will express how we feel about the bill and what impact it’ll have on Hoosiers,” Holcomb says.

The versions of the bill discussed so far would likely have a significant impact on Indiana’s HIP 2.0 health care program for low-income Hoosiers – which gets its funding from the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.