Indiana Health Insurance Program: Childless Adults Waitlisted
Since the Healthy Indiana government-subsidized health care program was opened to adults without children in January 2008, it has given thousands greater access to Indiana health insurance. According to the Courier-Journal’s Leslie Stedman Weidenbener, the plan has been so successful that many people are on a waiting list to enroll (due to limited program funds). State legislators negotiated an exception to Medicaid regulations that limit the program to families. 34,000 out of 49,000 enrollees are adults without children who are unable to afford individual health insurance.
People covered under the Healthy Indiana program must pay a sliding scale monthly premium based on their income (from $20 to $75).
What’s included under the Healthy Indiana plan?
- $500 in free preventative care each year
- An annual health savings account (HSA) of $1,100
- After the HSA is spent, there is a traditional health insurance plan without co-payments or deductibles.
To qualify for the Healthy Indiana program, Leslie writes that a childless adult must meet the following requirements:
- They must work for a company that doesn’t offer health insurance (so employers can’t drop them from their coverage and shift the burden onto the state)
- A single adult can make no more than $21,660 per year, or 200% of the poverty level
- They must have been without health insurance for at least six months.
