Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R.) on Monday touted his state’s alternative, private version of Medicaid during a speech on healthcare reform at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
Pence, a potential GOP candidate for president in 2016, was highlighting the alternative to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of Medicaid, the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP).
The state will submit a waiver in June requesting approval to replace traditional Medicaid with HIP in 2015.
"I think the Healthy Indiana Plan is a better way," Pence said. "I hope that our success with this program will help other states as well, and serve as yet another reason why we should start over on health care reform in America—why we should repeal Obamacare and replace it with a plan that includes consumer-driven health care. "
The millions of dollars offered up by the federal government to cover states’ Medicaid expansion costs for the first three years of Obamacare has proven difficult to refuse. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have agreed to expand Medicaid, while other states have attempted to move to alternative systems.
Pence said the consumer-driven approach is the better choice for consumers and taxpayers alike.
"HIP 2.0 will be fully funded at no additional cost to future taxpayers," Pence said.
However, some say the program is too reliant on federal dollars and doubt it will be able to serve as a sustainable option in place of the ACA exchanges.
The program will be largely funded through a combination of federal funds and an agreement with Indiana hospitals that have partnered with the program—a fact that John Daniel Davidson of the Federalist recently wrote is what keeps HIP from being a full departure from the ACA Medicaid exchange.
Davidson referred to the HIP as "merely the latest iteration of full Obamacare Medicaid expansion thinly disguised as a conservative entitlement reform."
Davidson warned of the possibility that the premium health savings account called Link, which assists in paying for employer sponsored coverage with federal tax dollars, would decrease incentives for those looking for health insurance to find coverage without government assistance.
Pence addressed the concern that enrollees could become more dependent on government help with the new program on Sunday in the Wall Street Journal. "HIP is not intended to be a long-term entitlement program," he wrote. "It is a safety net that aligns incentives with human aspirations."