Fifteen years after Obamacare’s passage, Indiana may finally fix that broken law’s signature policy. Lawmakers are moving to repeal and replace the state’s Medicaid expansion, transforming it into a more sustainable program that moves hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults from welfare to work. Indiana’s reform should inspire other states, to say nothing of leaders in Washington.
By moving to pass this legislation, Indiana is responding to a perfect storm of fiscal crisis and legal chaos. The state’s Medicaid program has been in dire financial straits, with a $1 billion shortfall last year that forced the state to create waiting lists for families with long-term disabilities. Also last year, a federal judge struck down Indiana’s waiver for Medicaid expansion. Issued by the Obama administration in 2015, the waiver allowed Indiana to enact modest reforms such as requiring premiums for expansion enrollees.
