Lead testing bill clears Statehouse
A bill that requires schools across Indiana to test their water for lead contamination has passed the Statehouse and is headed to the governor’s desk.
Medicaid
Articles
State aims to extend Healthy Indiana Plan
Indiana has submitted a request for a 10-year extension of its Medicaid alternative program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, and still included is the suspended work requirement that was imposed on some enrollees in the public assistance program but is currently under review by the courts.
Medicaid changes could have big state consequences
Nearly one in five Hoosiers is on Medicaid, a program that pays for medical care, hospitalization, drugs, skilled nursing and other services for low-income and disabled people. But the future of the program is now up in the air after the Trump administration announced in January it would allow states to add eligibility requirements, benefit changes and drug-coverage limits.
Ruling in Arkansas case creates hurdle for Indiana’s Medicaid work mandates
Indiana’s attempt to impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients likely suffered a setback Feb. 14 when an appellate court ruled that similar mandates in Arkansas fell outside the core objective of the federal health care program.
Justices, in 5-4 ruling, allow Trump public benefit rule in immigration
A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to put in place a policy connecting the use of public benefits including Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers with whether immigrants could become permanent residents.
Van Tyle: Working with vulnerable immigrant populations amid change
For good or for bad, immigration policy can often change day-to-day. Rules and regulations recently have been introduced, only to be temporarily halted by injunction days before implementation.
Indiana backs off Medicaid work requirement in face of federal lawsuit
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is temporarily suspending its requirement that certain Medicaid recipients work to receive their health care benefits pending the outcome of a federal lawsuit challenging the program.
Nurse pleads guilty in Medicaid fraud case
An Indiana nurse was sentenced to three years, with most of the time suspended, for multiple counts of forgery and ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution to the Indiana Medicaid Program as part of plea agreement reached in Marion Superior Court.
US appeals court skeptical of Trump’s Medicaid work rules
A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday sharply questioned the Trump administration’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, casting doubt on a key part of a government-wide effort to place conditions on low-income people seeking taxpayer-financed assistance.
Medicaid lawsuits headed to D.C. appellate court
Two lawsuits similar to the one filed against Indiana’s plan to impose new restrictions and work requirements on Medicaid recipients are scheduled for oral arguments Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Overhaul proposed for decades-old Medicare fraud rules
The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed overhauling decades-old Medicare rules originally meant to deter fraud and abuse but now seen as a roadblock to coordinating better care for patients. Two former Indiana health care industry professionals are leading the proposed reforms.
ILS joins effort to block Indiana’s Medicaid work requirements
A lawsuit challenging Indiana’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients, which according to the state’s own estimates would result in roughly 24,000 people losing health care coverage each year, was filed in federal court Monday.
Indiana leads 20-state coalition’s whistleblower brief
A scheme to award a multi-million-dollar no-bid subcontract to provide security in Iraq during the cleanup of munitions has put the spotlight on the federal False Claims Act and raised concerns among states, including Indiana, that a narrower interpretation of the long-standing statute could impact their ability to recover in whistleblower complaints.
Indiana agrees to provide Hepatitis C drugs to more Medicaid recipients
An agreement reached in federal court in February will allow Indiana Medicaid recipients infected with Hepatitis C to receive direct-acting antiviral medications, or DAAs, sooner rather than having to wait until the disease has significantly damaged their livers.
Medicaid thief loses appeal of ‘vulnerable victim’ convictions
A woman who defrauded a technology illiterate physician out of more than $80,000 lost her appeal Thursday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the woman took advantage of the doctor’s "remarkable" computer illiteracy for personal financial gain.
Convicted ex-ASC chief Burkhart loses bid to stay civil lawsuit
The former CEO of a nursing home company now serving prison time for his major role in a corporate fraud scheme has lost his bid to stay additional civil proceedings against him while he fights to have his convictions tossed on the basis of an alleged “profound conflict of interest” on the part of Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg.
Justices won’t hear states’ appeal over Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court on Monday avoided a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, over the dissenting votes of three justices. The court’s order reflected a split among its conservative justices and an accusation from Justice Clarence Thomas that his colleagues seemed to be ducking the case for political reasons.