Gov. Mike Pence received federal approval to roll out the new Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP 2.0.
Pence visited St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville Thursday to tout his new program HIP 2.0 and publicize the enrollment, which begins Feb. 1.
Before introducing the program, the governor painted a bleak picture of what Indiana’s overall health outcomes look like. He talked about the state's overall health ranking of 41 out of 50 states and the high prevalence of obesity, diabetes and infant mortality.
The answer to these problems, Pence said, lies in a key element: personal responsibility, or people having access to healthcare and information to improve their health.
That’s the central tenant to HIP 2.0, which requires participants to make monthly contributions of different amounts to a health savings account.
“It’s all designed to get people to take ownership of their own healthcare, which I think Hoosiers are not only willing to do but anxious to do, for themselves and their families,” Pence said.
Dr. Aaron Scholer, a pediatric hospitalist at Saint Mary’s, says he could see the program having an immediate impact on the patients he treats.
“I think it will give people who don't have access to healthcare... the confidence that if their child does become sick, that they'll be able to comfortably seek healthcare without the fear of racking up huge healthcare bills," Scholer said. "So I think it will help children receive better healthcare."
An estimated 650,000 Hoosiers are eligible for HIP 2.0, and more than 300,000 of them are uninsured.