State rolls out tools for new Medicaid work requirements

From texts to town halls, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is rolling out a variety of tools to prepare Hoosies on the Healthy Indiana Plan for new work requirements.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Indiana will implement work requirements for new applicants and existing Medicaid members eligible under HIP, which provides healthcare coverage for the state’s Medicaid expansion population.

Those adults generally will have to complete and report at least 80 hours per month of work, job training, education, community service or another qualifying activity to remain covered. The state will review compliance at least every six months.

The state will look back at the previous three months of activity to determine eligibility. That means anyone applying starting Jan. 1 will have to meet the requirements going back to October. Current members will have to prove compliance on a rolling basis when their renewal date comes up.

The changes will not apply to everyone on Medicaid. Children, pregnant women, older adults, people enrolled in Medicare and many people with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities are among those expected to be exempt. A parent caring for a child age 13 or younger, for example, would not have to meet the requirement, while a child enrolled in Medicaid would never be expected to report work.

To help raise awareness of the new work requirements, starting July 21, the state will periodically text HIP members general information about the new requirements. The text message will be sent from the phone number 43816and will not contain or ask about case information or have an impact on an individual’s HIP benefits or application.

The agency has also created a screening tool for HIP members check to see if they would but subject to or exempt from the work requirements. To use the tool, individuals will be asked to provide information on:

• If an exemption applies to them
• Health-related questions
• Work activities
• Income

Once the information is entered, they will be able to review and submit their answers to see if they would be required to meet HIP Work Requirements. The information is entered anonymously and is not stored or shared. Responses are used only to generate an individual’s screening results and are not accessible after the session ends.

• August 17 – Ivy Tech Elkhart
  • Community Center 3 and 5 – 22531 County Road 18, Goshen, IN 46528
  • Time: 6  to 7:30 p.m. ET
• September 1 – Ivy Tech Fort Wayne
  • Auditorium – 3800 N Anthony Blvd. Ft. Wayne, IN 46805
  • Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m. ET