Concerns about Pence’s Obamacare alternative preceded FSSA chief’s ouster
By Tony Cook, The Indianapolis Star | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Her push for a spring rollout came as the state's powerful hospital industry called for an earlier launch date of
The extent to which that issue resulted in Minott's dismissal last week is not entirely clear. Sources say it played a central role. Hospital industry executives say they don't know why she was fired.
The governor's office called
A spokeswoman said no start date has been established for the health care program because it is pending review by the federal government. However, a state agreement with the hospital industry and the state's federal application both contemplate a target start date of
The hospital industry stands to benefit from an expected flood of newly insured patients under the program, called Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0. The program would use federal money to expand coverage for up to 350,000 additional low-income Hoosiers. But unlike the expansion of traditional
The start date for HIP 2.0 is a concern to hospitals because they are facing reduced
"The FSSA should be motivated to get this started as soon as it can," he said. "The industry put as much pressure as it appropriately could on the state to get on with it. We were already a year late."
The financing agreement with the hospital association says "the state will make every commercially reasonable effort to implement HIP 2.0 as soon as is practicable on or after
A budget statement that is part of the state's federal waiver request also refers to a "proposed effective date of the Medicaid Expansion (
That differs from the April launch Minott referenced during a public appearance on Monday, the same day her dismissal became public.
Minott, who Pence appointed to the post shortly after he took office in
The debate about the launch date comes just six months after the botched rollout of
Minott's ouster at such a critical time came as a surprise to many. She came to the office with a resume that included stints as state personnel director under Gov.
Still, subtle signs of possible discord with the governor's office have been on display for some time. Hospital officials said Minott was largely uninvolved in negotiations with the industry and she did not attend the governor's HIP 2.0 announcement in May.
State officials are wrapping up a 30-day public comment period before formally submitting a waiver request later this month to the federal government. HIP 2.0 would cover all non-disabled Hoosiers ages 19 to 64 with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about
The plan has received support from Democrats and Republicans alike, though some conservatives have criticized it as a mere re-branding of the
The proposed program thrust Pence into the national spotlight, further stoking speculation that he might seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Pence has said he's focused on
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