Indiana has temporarily halted the reporting requirements of its Medicaid work program, known as Gateway to Work, while a lawsuit challenging the program, Rose v. Azar, works its way through federal court.
Until recently, Indiana was the only state with an active Medicaid work program and the only state not in entangled in legal troubles over the controversial Medicaid waiver. Rose v. Azar was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on September 23, 2019, just a little more than two months after the work program reporting requirements went into effect.
The required number of hours was being ramped up from 20 hours per month starting on July 1, 2019, to 80 hours per month starting on July 1, 2020. On October 1, 2019, the requirement went up to 40 hours per month. Participants would have had to meet the reporting requirements for at least eight months out of the year to remain eligible for benefits through the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP). Suspensions for those not meeting those requirements were set to begin in January 2020.
The reporting requirements, though not the whole Gateway to Work program, were temporarily suspended on October 31.
“To help ensure the continued operation of HIP, FSSA will temporarily suspend enforcement of the provision whereby some members could have their benefits suspended beginning in January for not meeting their annual Gateway to Work requirement,” the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) said in a news release.
Despite the lack of enforcement, FSSA is encouraging HIP members to continue reporting their qualifying work, education, or volunteer activities “to the state or their health plan so they can be connected to resources such as the state’s Next Level Jobs program, Ivy Tech, WorkOne and local job training and advancement programs.” As well, all HIP members will still have a Gateway to Work status of “exempt,” “reporting met,” or “reporting,” and be referred to opportunities to work, learn and serve in their communities.
When, or if, the program’s enforcement is reinitiated, FSSA said that “participating members would receive substantial advance notice regarding the timeline.”
Notably, the federal lawsuit affects not only Gateway to Work but other HIP provisions as well. According to FSSA, “several other components of the Healthy Indiana Plan that have been in operation for several years” also are being challenged, “potentially jeopardizing the HIP program as a whole.”
For more information about Indiana’s Gateway to Work program and the recent suspension of reporting requirements, check out the following resources:
- CIPROMS Blog Post: “Indiana’s Gateway to Work Program Ramps Up Again”
- FSSA News Release: “Pending resolution of federal lawsuit, FSSA will temporarily suspend Gateway to Work reporting requirements”
- FSSA’s Gateway to Work Webpage: “Learn about Gateway to Work”
- Healthcare Dive’s “Litigation prompts Indiana to drop Medicaid work requirement for now”
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