Attorney General Curtis Hill this week called upon a federal district court to delay consideration of a lawsuit against Indiana’s Healthy Indiana Plan, the state’s public health insurance program for the Medicaid expansion population, until after two other cases involving similar issues are resolved.
In September, plaintiffs challenged certain aspects of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) in the lawsuit Rose v. Azar. Two other similar cases involving Medicaid programs in Arkansas and Kentucky are already pending at the federal appellate level.
At issue in all three cases is whether the federal government may permit state Medicaid programs to require able-bodied unemployed individuals receiving benefits to participate in job training, education or certain other community activities. In Indiana, this component of HIP is called Gateway to Work.
This week, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced that it will temporarily suspend disenrollments as part of the Gateway to Work program during the pending legal challenge. This decision ensures that no one will be disenrolled from HIP because they do not participate in Gateway to Work.
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General joined the U.S. Justice Department in a motion filed Thursday asking the district court to postpone its deliberations.
“The FSSA’s announcement should remove any pressure that might otherwise prompt the federal district court to act hastily,” Attorney General Hill said. “Rather, the court has every opportunity to exercise patience and await the guidance of the appellate court. This approach would impose the fewest burdens on the State of Indiana and the individual residents participating in HIP.”
Attached is the action filed Oct. 31 by the U.S. Justice Department and the State of Indiana.
