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Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
An Indiana hospital cut medical services. A new DNC billboard blames President Trump
A new billboard on the southeast side of Columbus paid for by the Democratic National Committee blames President Donald Trump for recent medical service cuts at Columbus Regional Health and is part of a multi-state campaign to show Trump-voting communities what the party views as negative effects to rural health care in the 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' The Indiana billboard, which was installed July 22, is one of four billboards the DNC unveiled addressing hospitals that are closing or cutting medical services across the country. In addition to Indiana, the DNC launched billboards in Missouri, Oklahoma and Montana. A spokesperson told IndyStar the party paid 'four figures' for the Indiana sign. All four billboards are bright yellow with messages in bold black lettering specific to a health care provider in each state. 'Under Trump's watch, Columbus Regional Health is cutting medical services,' the Columbus billboard reads. It directs passersby to a page on the DNC website with state-by-state impacts of the president's tax and spending cuts bill that was signed into law on July 4. Democrats and advocacy groups have decried the large cuts to Medicaid included in the bill through work requirements and an eventual decrease in the cap on provider taxes from 6% to 3.5%. Indiana relies on those taxes, paid by hospitals, to fund its Medicaid expansion program known as the Healthy Indiana Plan. Columbus Regional Health on June 30, prior to the bill's passage, announced it would close its inpatient rehabilitation unit and outpatient orthopedics and sports medicine services, which the organization said was due to no longer being able to 'cost-effectively provide inpatient rehab services.' The June announcement said some of the cost concerns are due to rising supply costs, 'legislative scrutiny' and state and federal funding cuts. In a statement to IndyStar on July 22, Columbus Regional Health said it was unaware of the DNC billboard and did not provide permission to be referenced. 'Recently, Columbus Regional Health made the announcement of service line and practice closings related to increasing financial constraints and burdens our health system is currently facing," the statement reads. 'These difficult decisions were made under consideration of the many challenges and risks facing not just CRH – but many hospitals, health systems, and medical providers statewide and nationally – in order to remain financially viable.' A $50 billion fund to support rural hospitals was added to the Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" toward the end of negotiations between lawmakers to appease senators who were concerned about the size of the proposed Medicaid cuts. But some health policy groups say it's likely not enough to help ease the impact of federal funding losses from the changes to Medicaid in the bill. Indiana could receive some amount of money from $25 billion of the rural health fund dedicated to states that submit applications with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The CMS Administrator is expected to have flexibility to distribute the other $25 billion. Taxes to Medicaid: 4 ways Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could impact Hoosiers A June letter to Republican leaders from four Senate Democrats argued that Trump's tax and spending cuts bill would put 12 rural Indiana hospitals "uniquely at risk" of closure or cutting services. But the letter, based on data from the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina, was sent out before the rural fund was added to the bill. An analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, though, found that the rural health fund only offsets about one third of the federal Medicaid funding rural areas around the country are expected to lose under the bill. Scott Tittle, the president of the Indiana Hospital Association, said in a statement to IndyStar that he is also concerned the rural fund will not be enough to cover expected losses for hospitals in Indiana and that the fund itself is temporary. 'There is no additional assistance following the end of the OBBBA's five-year period,' Tittle said in the statement. In a news release about the billboards, DNC chair Ken Martin said Trump 'put the last nail in the coffin for rural hospitals' and that Trump's voters 'will suffer the most.' Nearly 63% of voters in Bartholomew County, where Columbus is located, voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. "After blowing a lethal hole in rural hospital funding, Republicans are about to find out that their flimsy funding band-aid won't be enough to protect them from voters' righteous anger,' Martin said. 'These new DNC billboards plainly state exactly what is happening to rural hospitals under Donald Trump's watch.' Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at
Indianapolis Star
01-07-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
How Sens. Todd Young, Jim Banks voted on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
Indiana's two U.S. Senators voted for President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," a massive array of spending and tax cuts with significant implications for government programs, like Medicaid. U.S. Sens. Jim Banks and Todd Young, who are both Republicans, joined senators on July 1 to advance the bill, which narrowly passed the chamber on a vote of 51-50 after Vice President JD Vance voted to break the tie. It now heads back to the House where representatives will vote on approving the proposed budget reconciliation bill in the coming days, just before the self-imposed deadline of July 4. Banks and Young in statements following the vote praised the bill for providing tax cuts for working-class Americans. "This bill delivers on President Trump's promises to secure the border and strengthen our military, while also making the largest spending cut ever," Banks said in a statement. "I'll keep standing with President Trump in the Senate to get results for hardworking families in Indiana." Young echoed those sentiments. 'While I wish this legislation included additional fiscal reforms, this is a strong bill that will benefit Hoosier families and increase the security and prosperity of all Americans," Young said in a statement. "I urge my House colleagues to pass this legislation and send it to the President's desk.' The vote came after a marathon of amendments and debate that started June 28 and continued until the bill's final passage in the Senate on July 1. More: Big Beautiful Bill 101: What you need to know about Trump's tax bill As it passed the House in May, the Trump-endorsed bill contained some campaign promises, like eliminating the tax on tips, extending and significantly expanding his 2017 state and local tax cuts, as well as massive cuts to and work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP, which provide health care and food assistance to low-income families. The Senate proposal extended but held steady the state and local tax caps and placed some limits on how much tip income can evade taxation. While the Senate kept the Medicaid work requirements put forward in the House, it also proposed a gradual decrease, from 6% to 3.5%, in the amount of provider taxes that help states pay for their share of Medicaid. Senate Republicans revealed updated language over the weekend that delayed the decrease one year to start in 2028. They additionally offered a $25 billion stabilization fund to help rural hospitals that could be hit by Medicaid cuts. At a state budget committee meeting in mid-June, state leaders voiced concerns that provider tax caps would make Indiana unable to afford the Healthy Indiana Plan, a Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income adults. Independent of the Medicaid provisions in this federal legislation, Indiana already passed legislation seeking to institute work requirements for the Healthy Indiana Plan. More: Hoosiers could be kicked off Medicaid under Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' What to know As multiple independent polls in the last few weeks showed a majority of voters disapproved of the bill, a Trump administration official visited Indianapolis on June 24 to defend the legislation. Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, said provisions reducing taxes for small businesses are popular on Main Street ― though critics argue the bill is far more beneficial for Wall Street. As the bill returns to the House, the outstanding question is whether there is enough support for the legislation after substantive changes made in the Senate. The House version of the bill narrowly passed the chamber in May on a vote of 215-214.
Indianapolis Star
24-06-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Polls say Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is unpopular. In Indy SBA chief says Main Street supports it
As President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' makes its way through Congress, his Small Business Administration leader visited Indianapolis on June 24 to tout the benefits she said the legislation could have on Hoosier business owners. Numerous independent polls released in recent weeks from outlets such as Fox News, the Washington Post, Quinnipiac University and the Kaiser Family Foundation show a majority of voters oppose Trump's bill. All four of those polls show more than 50% of individuals surveyed do not support the legislation. But SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, in a visit to Olson Custom Designs in northwest Indianapolis, said that's not what she hears from small business owners around the country, who she said support provisions of the bill such as increasing the small business tax deduction and eliminating taxes on overtime from 2025 until 2029. There has been misinformation about the bill benefiting Wall Street rather than Main Street, Loeffler said. 'The One Big Beautiful Bill is a very pro-worker piece of legislation,' Loeffler told reporters. 'Every day that we wait for this bill to pass is one less day that small businesses, manufacturers, main streets and hardworking Americans have to wait to see the benefits of that bill.' Brothers Mitch and Brian Olson, who founded Olson Custom Designs in 2014, walked Loeffler past large machines that hissed and squeaked. The business, which has 80 employees, manufactures essential parts for medical, aerospace and defense industries. Mitch Olson told reporters that the tax benefits in Trump's bill could allow Olson Custom Designs to reinvest in the company and its employees. 'Passing along that savings back to our employees is crucial to recruit more employees and to help advance the ones we currently already have,' he said. The June 24 Indianapolis stop was Loeffler's second visit to the Hoosier State this year. She announced a manufacturing deregulation initiative at Aerodyn Engineering in March in one of her first stops since her confirmation as SBA Administrator earlier this year. Trump's signature legislation passed the U.S. House in May and is currently making its way through the U.S. Senate. Congressional leaders are hoping to send the bill to Trump's desk by the Fourth of July, but that timeline could face obstacles as federal lawmakers continue to debate and change portions of the bill. More One Big Beautiful Bill impacts: Ending energy tax credits, jobs for thousands of Hoosiers One of those provisions is Medicaid funding and eligibility. The bill would establish work requirements for Medicaid recipients, but the U.S. Senate has also proposed capping the Medicaid provider tax at 3.5%. Indiana has a 6% provider tax, which covers 90% of the state's costs for the Healthy Indiana Plan. State leaders on June 18 said they were concerned such cuts would make Indiana unable to afford the Healthy Indiana Plan, which is the state's health insurance program for low income Hoosiers. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
Indianapolis Star
20-06-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
Hoosiers could be kicked off Medicaid under Trump's 'big beautiful bill.' What to know
Some Hoosiers could be kicked off Medicaid if President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' passes in its current form, as the state grapples with the revenue cuts that would come with it. Language added to the federal legislation on June 16 caps the Medicaid provider tax — which is used to cover 90% of the state's portion of the costs for the Healthy Indiana Plan — at 3.5%. Indiana utilizes a 6% provider tax, meaning the change would decrease funding from the fee by nearly half. Opponents of the provider tax view it as a loophole used by states to qualify for matching dollars from the federal government, which pays for 90% of the costs of the program, without having to dedicate much of their own funds. If passed as is, Indiana would not be able to afford the current costs of the Healthy Indiana Plan, the state's insurance program for low-income people, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Mitch Roob said at a state budget committee meeting June 18. But neither Roob nor Gov. Mike Braun are asking Congress to keep the full 6%. Instead, Roob said at the meeting that he wants Congress to add language that would give states the flexibility to adapt. Those changes would allow the state to enroll fewer Hoosiers in HIP, according to Roob. 'Please give us the needed flexibility to roll back our eligibility if they change the fuel mix for our program,' he said at the meeting. Even without the added impact of the federal legislation, the state is making it more challenging to qualify for Medicaid. The latest version of HIP already includes more restrictions, such as work requirements for able-bodied recipients that passed the legislature this year. The new law includes a list of exceptions, though not all would be covered under the work requirement language proposed in the federal bill. In a statement June 18, Braun said the efforts to reduce federal spending were overdue. "However, flexibility in managing Indiana's HIP program will be essential for the state moving forward, especially if we are required to take on more of the financial obligation,' he said in the statement. 'This will require a hands-on approach to updating and maintaining Indiana's Medicaid system that only Hoosiers can provide.' Braun said he would work to 'stretch the dollar' for people with chronic diseases and those who 'really can't afford health care' when speaking to reporters at the Indiana Statehouse on June 19. 'That's what I'd like to have it there for, not what it's expanded into with very lax supervision, pushed by the feds and now with a bunch of begrudging state partners because it's been busting the budget,' he said. The provision has already faced some GOP opposition in the U.S. House of Representatives, which must approve this version of the bill before it can move on. With a slim Republican majority, it's possible the part of the bill that imposes the 3.5% tax cap could be removed. The version that already passed the House only capped future increases in provider fees.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Indiana needs a HIP replacement', social services secretary says about insurance program
Mitch Roob, secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, presents to the State Budget Committee on June 18, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) In his second tenure leading Indiana's most expensive state agency, Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Mitch Roob wants to significantly change Indiana's insurance program for low- to middle-income Hoosiers. But ongoing negotiations in Washington D.C. could undermine or fundamentally alter the third iteration of the Healthy Indiana Plan, otherwise known as HIP. Some congressional changes could be prohibitively expensive for the state, coming on the heels of a bleak revenue forecast projecting $2 billion less in Indiana's coffers over the next two years. 'This is a five-alarm fire for us,' said Roob, who introduced the first version of HIP while he was the FSSA secretary under former Gov. Mitch Daniels. In a sit-down with the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Roob previewed a Wednesday presentation before the State Budget Committee introducing HIP 3.0, including work requirements, provider taxes and wellness incentives. But the final details can't be determined until Congress agrees on President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which could be approved in the coming weeks. GOP senators warn mega-bill's new Medicaid cuts will hurt rural hospitals Work requirements for able-bodied adults on HIP were fiercely debated in the legislative session earlier this year, ultimately advancing with the support of the Republican supermajority. But the process would take months, requiring Indiana to submit a modified waiver for federal approval before it could be enacted. That timeline could be shortened under the latest version of the bill, which would force all states to adopt such regulations. 'Once the big, beautiful bill passes, we will move forward as quickly as we can with that,' Roob said about work requirements. Other states have stumbled in their rollout of such conditions, including Arkansas and Georgia. Roob said details of Indiana's plan would largely hinge on Congress' actions and pointed to support from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun. 'He believes in work requirements; he doesn't believe in work requirements to kick people off of the program,' said Roob. 'He believes that Medicaid ought to be a program that incentivizes individuals to work — not disincentivizes them to do so.' While Indiana's work requirements would have allowed an exception for parents in general, Congress now proposes limiting that exemption to parents of children who aren't teens. More than 712,000 Hoosiers rely on HIP for their health coverage, according to a May enrollment report. Other portions of the bill threaten to undo Indiana's program, particularly its cap on state provider taxes, according to Roob. The Senate has proposed a cap of 3.5% on the levy, which applies to hospitals and managed care entities. A higher tax means the state can leverage more federal dollars. But Indiana uses the maximum allowed tax of 6% on hospitals, known as a hospital assessment fee, to fund its obligation for HIP. Those taxes — along with a portion of the cigarette tax — pay for the entire program, meaning that no general fund dollars need to be dedicated to HIP. 'That's how we pay for the Healthy Indiana Plan,' Roob said. 'If (Congress' proposal is) signed into law, this would require the state of Indiana to significantly roll back eligibility in the Healthy Indiana Plan. 'Not because we want to — because we have no match.' Indiana is responsible for 10% of the costs while the federal government picks up the tab for the remainder. However, under its current waiver, Indiana could be on the hook if the hospital assessment fee is cut and would need to come up with the difference. Roob said he was working with Indiana's congressional delegation to provide states explicit authority to change their plans in a later version of the bill. This rate cap would also apply to any provider tax levies on managed care entities, which oversee several of Indiana's Medicaid programs, including services offered under the divisive PathWays for Aging waiver. Indiana submitted a plan to tax managed care entities earlier this month based on the plans of other states, such as Ohio and Illinois, which could net the state $865.8 million. But Congress could invalidate that proposal by prohibiting that type of tax, which isn't uniform and varies by provider type, in favor of something more equal across the board. 'It is not law yet, so we are racing to try to get this approved,' said Roob. 'I view our prospects of getting this done as not quite as good as the Pacers winning the series.' Portions of the proposal in Congress would require copays and premiums for certain Medicaid enrollees, something that was halted in Indiana by a federal judge last year. If allowed, Roob said the state would 'likely' bring that back — though he said the state was seeking more 'explicit authority' to implement cost-sharing requirements in the final version of the bill. Undoubtedly, such a move would be challenged in the courts. But Roob said Hoosiers on HIP could reduce such charges by meeting certain wellness guidelines, such as preventative care check-ups. Women getting regular pap smears, for example, would lower their cost-sharing obligations. 'And while we recognize that that won't save Indiana much money in that particular year, it may save that woman from having cervical cancer,' Roob said. 'So it is the governor's desire to 'Make Indiana Healthy Again,' and part of that is to incentivize changes in behavior.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
