Indiana Gov. Braun tackles health care costs, while cutting funding
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Indiana Gov. Mike Braun. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photos: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun says he's taking steps to make health care more affordable, but critics say not necessarily more accessible, to Hoosiers.
Why it matters: Indiana has historically had some of the worst health outcomes in the nation.
- Life expectancy declined from 2010 to 2019 and is two years below the national average, placing us 40th in the nation.
- Plus: Hoosiers pay some of the highest hospital prices in the country.
Driving the news: Braun issued a series of executive orders Wednesday that he said "invest in a healthier Indiana."
- He ordered state agencies to identify additional safeguards against things like surprise billing and other practices that make health care more expensive.
- Other orders are aimed at rooting out fraud, waste and abuse in safety-net programs such as Medicaid and a federal drug pricing program.
Yes, but: Braun has proposed cuts to public health funding and suggested strategies to curb the number of low-income Hoosiers accessing health insurance through the state's Medicaid programs.
State of play: In 2023, lawmakers created the Health First Indiana program and increased the state's investment in public health spending by 1,500%.
- The program awarded additional dollars to local health departments that committed to providing certain services — such as tobacco cessation, improving birth outcomes, addressing obesity, and offering immunizations regardless of insurance status — aimed at improving Hoosiers' health and ensuring all communities had access to baseline preventative care.
- Last year, all 92 counties opted in to the program, which was funded at $150 million annually.
Follow the money: Braun's budget proposal would cut that funding by one-third.
- His administration has also directed insurance companies to stop advertising the state's Medicaid programs.
What they're saying: Critics say those moves go against Braun's promises to increase access to and transparency in health care.
- "Restricting information about Medicaid benefits undermines public health and equity, leaving some of our most vulnerable residents uninformed about their rights and resources," said Chrystal Ratcliffe, president of the Greater Indianapolis NAACP. "Access to health care should never be politicized or obscured — it is a basic human right."
Democrats at the Statehouse have also been critical.
- "If we want to rein in the amount we spend on Medicaid, the solution is not to kick people off of it but help them to grow off of it," said Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis.
The other side: Braun's office did not respond to a request for comment about these concerns.