Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Discusses Consumer-Driven Health Care Plan  ... >
May 19, 2014 - In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) set out a sharp contrast between government-driven health care reform as embodied in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and consumer-driven health care reform as he is working to implement in Indiana.  Pence last week announced HIP 2.0, a proposal which would build on the Healthy Indiana Plan developed by his predecessor, Gov. Mitch Daniels, to cover unemployed Indianans.  The objective of HIP 2.0 is to help low-income working Hoosiers.  Pence is seeking a five-year waiver under the Affordable Care Act to implement HIP 2.0.

"HIP 2.0 is not intended to be an entitlement," Pence said, explaining that people in the program will eventually transition into the private insurance marketplace.  "We're not expanding traditional Medicaid, we're reforming Medicaid," he said.  Pence said HIP 2.0 emphasizes personal responsibility, as all participants will be required to contribute to the program.  According to the HIP website, "All HIP 2.0 plans include a Personal Wellness and Responsibility (POWER) account which functions like a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help pay for deductible expenses."

HIP 2.0 encompasses three basic plans.  HIP Link would provide premium assistance through employers, and is essentially a voucher, Pence said; indeed, he said it is the first of its kind in the United States.  HIP Plus would provide more generous benefits.  HIP Basic, effectively the default, would offer fewer benefits.

Pence emphasized that the Indiana reforms are being done in a way that will not require raising taxes or any additional cost to the state's general fund; HIP 2.0 is, he said, "fully funded at no additional cost to Hoosier taxpayers."  He said that HIP 2.0 "will serve as a model for what block granted Medicaid" could look like.  Republicans need to be "solutions conservatives," Pence said. He said Indiana has been leading the way on health care reform and has proven that "consumer-driven health care works."
(Above)  Gov. Pence talks with AEI scholar Michael Barone and AEI president Arthur C. Brooks, and takes his leave of Brooks before heading off.

Gov. Pence has recently started to draw attention as a potential 2016 presidential candidate, notably with his April 12-18 trade mission to Germany and his speech to the NRA-ILA on April 25.
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