Eric Holcomb on Health Care

	Eric Holcomb on Health Care

Address mental health, addiction, suicide, & public health

What really struck me is that our life expectancy in Indiana has declined in recent years--specifically among those who are front and center to our future--working age adults between 25 and 64-years-old. That's a pattern we need to reverse, and I will politely push and prod and poke everyone I can to adopt the commission's recommendations, including a significant increase in our state's public-health appropriation--$120 million in the first year and $227 million in the second year.

Our health and wellbeing challenges extend to addressing mental health problems, helping Hoosiers defeat addiction, maternal and infant mortality, and assisting our veterans who face double the risk of dying by suicide than other groups. Our localized pathways to improvement must include programs to attack these issues, close to home, by building sustainable systems that prevent and respond to a crisis and investing in data-driven, evidence-based community programs.

Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Indiana legislature , Jan 10, 2023

I beg you to speak to your doctor and get vaccinated

We know that people who are getting vaccinated and boosted overwhelmingly stay out of the hospital, stay out of the ICU, and don't die. If you haven't been vaccinated, I encourage--I plead-- I even beg you to speak to your doctor and do so. I say this, even if you've disagreed with every position I've taken. I just want us both to be around to continue to have those disagreements. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Indiana legislature , Jan 11, 2022

Expand access for mental health, reduce stigma

Our strategy includes making investments to grow our mental health workforce with more recruitment, retention, and quality efforts by:

Expanding access to mental health services
Rolling out the new federal 988 Suicide Hotline
And investing more to reduce the stigma of mental health challenges

Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Indiana legislature , Jan 11, 2022

Now is the time to implement a managed care system

Now is the time to put this effort in place, including a managed care system similar to the ones 25 other states are using to integrate care across the entire spectrum to make it easier for families to navigate and drive outcomes in a transparent and accountable way. And for our eligible Hoosiers, we're fortunate that our Healthy Indiana Plan recently received a 10-year federal waiver to cover the 600,000 Hoosiers who are active participants in improving their health outcomes.

[OnTheIssues editor's note: a "managed care system" means partial privatization via MCOs; definition from Medicaid.gov]: "Managed Care is a health care delivery system organized to manage cost, utilization, and quality. Medicaid managed care provides for the delivery of Medicaid health benefits and additional services through contracted arrangements between state Medicaid agencies and managed care organizations (MCOs) that accept a set per member per month (capitation) payment for these services."

Source: 2021 State of the State Address to the Indiana legislature , Jan 19, 2021

Must reduce infant mortality rate

Indiana regularly ranks among the worst states in the nation for infant mortality, lagging behind the national average and that of our Midwestern neighbors. Six hundred twenty-three babies didn't live past the age of one in Indiana in 2016: 623. We'll take an important step this year by working with you to implement a Levels of Care program to assure that the highest-risk babies are delivered at hospitals with the facilities to meet the needs of the mother and the baby. Source: 2018 Indiana State of the State address , Jan 9, 2018

New Medicaid waiver for Structured Family Caregiving

Q: How will you help expand Indiana seniors' access to quality services provided at home in the community (HCBS)?

Eric J. Holcomb: Hoosiers are entering their retirement years in record numbers, and they are expected to live longer than ever before. As has always been the case, many will turn to family or others to provide them with care. These unpaid caregivers face emotional, financial, and physical challenges unappreciated by most of us. Under my administration, I will instruct the Indiana Division of Aging to continue a new Medicaid waiver service called Structured Family Caregiving (SFC). The caregivers in this model, frequently family members, are paid and supported by a Medicaid certified SFC provider.

John R. Gregg: As Governor I will protect the CHOICE program and work to increase matching funds to utilize more Medicaid Aged and Disabled Waivers so more folks can stay in their homes and independent.

Source: AARP Voter Guide on 2016 Indiana Gubernatorial race , Oct 31, 2016

ObamaCare was the wrong answer to a national problem

Holcomb said, "Those of us who feel that the Affordable Care Act was the wrong answer to a national problem just can't continue talking about what we're against; we now have to present what we're for. We need the federal government--the Congress and the president--to give states the flexibility to offer alternative solutions. That's what I will fight for in order to make America safer, stronger and freer for generations to come." Source: Journal-Gazette on 2016 Indiana governor race , Aug 16, 2015

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