Uninsured Numbers Drop In Indiana

The number of uninsured Hoosiers continues to drop.  In Indiana the percentage of people without insurance dropped from 14 percent in 2013 to 9.6 percent in 2015.

The U.S. Census Bureau data reports about 275,000 more Hoosiers have insurance since the Affordable Care Act took effect. Caitlin Priest, director of public policy at Covering Kids and Families of Indiana,  says those numbers will continue to grow.

"This information does not include the increase that we’re going to continue to see as a result of the Healthy Indiana Plan," Priest says. 

That’s Indiana Medicaid expansion waiver, HIP 2.0, which is seen by some as an example of a state alternative to federal Medicaid expansion. It is up for a federal review this year, when it’s up for renewal.

Priest says the first people to enroll in 2013 were those who needed and wanted it most.

"They’re sort of the first in line when the ACA and HIP took effect," says Priest. "So we scooped up the low hanging fruit fairly easily, and the next challenge is to rustle the bushes somewhat."

Priest says health care expansion has been consistent in Indiana where people haven’t had to deal with network inadequacy and insurance provider problems like other states.

Indiana still has a higher rate of uninsured compared to neighboring states, and, at 9.6 percent uninsured, it still measures slightly higher than the national rate of 9.4.