State launches insurance plan to cover thousands of Hoosiers

A new plan that offers increased health care to uninsured adult Hoosiers might end up benefiting all of Indiana, steadily cutting the cost of health care premiums that increase when uninsured patients seek medical treatment.\nThe Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP, passed in the 2007 legislative session and in effect since Jan. 1, provides for health insurance coverage to low-income Hoosiers who are not eligible for Medicaid, according to an Indiana Family and Social Services Administration news release. \n“HIP helps counter the costs of high health care for the entire state of Indiana by offering free unlimited care to the uninsured, thus treating people before they are diagnosed,” said Lauren Auld, a spokeswoman for the agency.\nHIP provides coverage for 130,000 of the low-income Hoosiers in the state. According to the U.S Census Bureau Web site, approximately 840,000 Indiana residents are below the current poverty line. \n“This is not an entitlement program; we will be serving on a first come, first serve basis,” Auld said. “Our goal is to get 50,000 people signed up within the first year.”\nThe HIP requires that participants be uninsured for a period of at least six months and are not eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance, Auld said. \n“We estimate that 550,000 Hoosiers are eligible for the plan, and we have funding for about a quarter of those people or households,” she said.\nThe processing for the applications began as early as Dec. 17, 2007, and is ready to sustain health insurance for uninsured adult Hoosiers whose annual household income is between 22 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the news release.\nThose who do qualify must meet certain requirements. In order for a family of four to be eligible for the plan, they must not surpass an annual household income of more than $41,300, according to the news release. Likewise, a family of two would have an income of less than $27,380 to be eligible.\n“Passing landmark health care legislation was great,” Gov. Mitch Daniels said in the news release. “But seeing real people beginning to benefit is far better, so we are out to spread the word to those who qualify.”\nHIP features include a personal account for individuals called a Personal Wellness and Responsibility Account, or POWER account. Offerings for the account will be made by the state and the participant, depending on how much the latter is able to contribute annually, according to the plan’s Web site.\nFor more information on the Healthy Indiana Plan, visit www.hip.in.gov.