Phil Galewitz of Kaiser Health News has a progress report on Indiana's conservative-flavored Medicaid expansion, which obligates all enrollees to make small monthly payments ($1-29) into a health savings account. If they don't pay, they either lose benefits for a period or lose dental and vision coverage provided to paying enrollees.
Critics decry the bureaucratic complexity and also worry that the payments discourage some from participating. And enrollment has apparently not been as gangbusters as in some states:
Critics decry the bureaucratic complexity and also worry that the payments discourage some from participating. And enrollment has apparently not been as gangbusters as in some states:
Since Indiana’s expansion began in February 2015, more than 235,000 previously uninsured able-bodied adults have signed up. As of late February, the plan covered more than 370,000 people total, many with extremely low incomes. Another 190,000 adults are eligible but not enrolled, according to state estimates, though some who are above the poverty line may be in subsidized private plans.It's true that some states swiftly exceeded their enrollment targets upon expansion, Michigan and Ohio among them. Galewitz relays some possible inhibiting factors:
