"‘Do I go to a doctor?’ or ‘Do I need to pay rent?'"

The original subsidies for HealthCare.gov insurance plans are staying in place — but the enhanced subsidies will end on Dec. 31st if Congress fails to extend them.

@akruhman.bsky.social explains what it means for Texas families.

'Chaos to the system': Senate moves nonprofit hospital bill forward, despite impassioned debate Republican lawmakers passionately debated legislation to tackle health care costs among Indiana’s largest nonprofit hospitals. The Senate ultimately voted to move the measure forward and return it to…

“What happens to a nonprofit that loses that status? I have no idea,” said Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo). “And that scares the bejeezus out of me.”

Braun launches 'Make Indiana Healthy Again' initiative, makes significant changes to SNAP Gov. Mike Braun unveiled a new health initiative which makes several significant changes to Indiana’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The top U.S. health official said the changes go further than any other state’s so far.

The “Make Indiana Healthy Again” initiative includes nine executive orders, with almost half focused on SNAP.

Health care could get more expensive for transgender people under a new Trump rule The proposed rule affects access to “essential health benefits” like hospitalization, mental health services and prescription drugs.

Up to 2 million people could lose their health care coverage in 2026, if a recently proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is finalized.

I break down one part of this proposal here: how trans people, many of whom already live in poverty, could see higher health care costs

IDOH confirms measles case in Allen County, first confirmed case in more than a year The Indiana Department of Health confirmed Monday the state's first measles case in more than a year. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus.

IDOH reports the case is an unvaccinated minor in Allen County, who is stable and recovering

Indiana moves to replace Medicaid consulting firm after $1 billion forecasting error The state of Indiana is preparing to replace the consulting firm it works with to help prepare its Medicaid forecasts after a forecasting miss in 2023 that put the state $1 billion off the mark for…

The state indicated this week it will enter negotiations with Deloitte Consulting for its Medicaid actuarial services, replacing Milliman.

Lawmakers remove several controversial policies from 'comprehensive' health costs plan Lawmakers removed some of the more controversial policies — like guidelines for the 340B Drug Pricing Program and site neutrality — in the process.

A Senate committee amended a "comprehensive plan" meant to address health care costs in Indiana.

Committee makes changes to HIP work reporting exceptions, Medicaid advertising ban A House committee amended controversial legislation that will reintroduce previously halted work reporting requirements to Indiana's Medicaid expansion program.

The House Ways and Means Committee made several changes to the list, including adding a completely new exception.

Emotional on behalf of my web editor’s relationship to opening day at Victory Field? It’s more likely than you’d think.

ACLU of Indiana files lawsuit to challenge halt on gender change requests for birth records The Indiana Department of Health issued guidance to local and county health departments to stop accepting gender change requests for Indiana birth records. IDOH said it was to comply with Gov. Mike…

The current lawsuit is on behalf of a transgender teenager who was in the middle of the process to update her birth record when the IDOH guidance was issued.

Indiana Medicaid waiver invitations hit capacity, more than 10,000 still on waitlists An advocate said consistent communication with the state is especially important with the recent change to a 180 day timeline for service plans and assessments.

Once someone is invited off the waitlist for the Health and Wellness or Pathways waiver, they have 30 days to accept the invitation. Then, they have 180 days to complete a service plan and several assessments to start receiving services.

How Monroe County plans to address gender change requests The Monroe County Health Department will continue to process requests to change a person’s gender on their birth certificate, despite changes made at the state level.

The Monroe County Health Department will continue to process requests to change a person’s gender on their birth certificate, despite changes made at the state level.

buff.ly/Zk1Q7aT via @wfiu.bsky.social

Indiana's 2025 budget-writing session begins Jan. 8. Here's how the process works The 2025 session of the Indiana General Assembly, which will last about four months and include a new state budget, begins Wednesday.

As lawmakers plow through the second half of the legislative session, here's our guide to how the budget writing process works:

Expansion to Indiana's Lifeline Law sent to the governor's desk Indiana is a stroke of the governor’s pen away from expanding its Lifeline Law to shield more young people from underage drinking charges.

The House voted 87-3 on Thursday to send the bill to the governor’s desk.

Advocates: Pregnancy care centers lack regulations, training to provide care for Hoosiers The Indiana Senate passed a resolution in support of pregnancy care centers — but advocates said they have “serious concerns” about the move from lawmakers. Some OB-GYNs said it’s important to understand what pregnancy care centers are, and what they are not.

Dr. Verónica Santana-Ufret said Indiana needs to move in a direction that helps connect people to OB-GYN care, but she said SCR 24 undermines medical expertise, education and training.

All it took was calling and emailing a dozen county and local health departments in Indiana to get a handful to confirm the validity of an email I was sent.

IDOH halts gender change requests on birth records to comply with Braun executive order The Indiana Department of Health issued new guidance to local and county health departments to stop accepting gender change requests for Indiana birth records.

Requests made after the governor’s March 4 executive order will no longer be accepted by health departments.

New educational campaign hopes to clarify role of pharmacy benefit managers in health care Pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, are meant to lower drug prices by acting as a middleman between drug manufacturers and either insurance companies or employers who sponsor health plans. Advocates…

Joey Fox, director of the campaign, said Prescription Benefits Matter is targeting consumers and employers — not members of the General Assembly.

Advocates say Braun executive orders tell transgender Hoosiers: 'You don't belong here' Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order Tuesday to align with federal moves to ban transgender women and girls from playing sports. Advocates say the orders are products of a nationwide campaign of…

One of Gov. Mike Braun's two executive orders directs executive branch agencies to “enforce the biological binary” of gender.

Gov. Mike Braun expands paid parental leave benefits for state employees Gov. Mike Braun signs an executive order to extend paid parental leave benefits for state employees.

Braun said he won't make "mandates" for paid parental leave, but he said more established companies should "aspire" to provide it.

Further restrictions for Indiana's near-total abortion ban died. Advocates remain concerned Lawmakers filed several bills to further restrict abortion access and strengthen reporting requirements in Indiana — which already has a near-total abortion ban. Reproductive rights advocates said…

Reproductive rights advocates said even though the bills didn’t move forward, they’re concerned lawmakers will continue to pursue the policies in the future.

Several Indiana health care measures focus on the 340B Drug Pricing Program. What is it? Several bills this session deal with a federal program known as the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Lawmakers say the measures tackle health care costs, but some health leaders say lawmakers may…

Several bills still moving forward in the Indiana Statehouse include language related to the 340B program.

IPB News: The Indiana Two-Way The Indiana Two-Way is a Thursday morning text service from Indiana Public Broadcasting News. It shares the latest statewide news updates from the week straight to your phone. We also want you to…

It's the midpoint of Indiana's legislative session and there's still a whole lot of session left.

Trying to keep up on statewide news? Join our text group, the Indiana Two-Way! We'll text you every Thursday morning with headlines and you send us questions to inform our reporting.

Author pushes back against fiscal concerns as Senate passes prior authorization bill The Indiana Senate approved a stripped down version of a prior authorization reform bill Thursday. The legislation was heavily amended over fiscal concerns. But, the author of the bill said he…

Johnson said he worked with fiscal experts to bring the cost of the bill down, but the fiscal note didn’t reflect that.

Experts, advocates challenge misinformation from lawmakers on Medicaid, HIP overhaul bill Indiana lawmakers want to address Medicaid spending by overhauling the state’s Medicaid expansion program. However, testimony and discussion so far has included misinformation and misleading…

Testimony and discussion, so far, has included misinformation and misleading information on the Healthy Indiana Plan, or HIP.

IPB News: The Indiana Two-Way The Indiana Two-Way is a Thursday morning text service from Indiana Public Broadcasting News. It shares the latest statewide news updates from the week straight to your phone. We also want you to text...

And finally, if you want a resource that sends you a weekly text about summarizing the biggest news of the week that you can text back any questions you have — and have a real person respond (she’s very cool and incredibly helpful!), consider joining the Indiana Two-Way:

Civically, Indiana: Answering the how and why of Indiana's state government and elections Civically, Indiana is a project to lower the barrier to entry for Hoosiers by answering both the how and why of state government and elections.

As the legislative process continues, if you find yourself wondering about different parts of the process, you probably aren’t alone. For more about stories explaining how elections and state government work, check out the Civically, Indiana project:

There’s a lot of important legislation covering education, employment, environment, health and so much more. It can be a lot to keep track of on your own. If you want to follow more reporting on SB 2 and other legislation, the IPB News team has a handy bill tracker:

Want lawmakers to know how you feel about a bill? Consider speaking at a committee hearing If a bill affects you directly — whether in your personal life, your business, or a legal battle — you might consider testifying in front of the committee at the Indiana Statehouse. These committees a...

The first step for SB 2 in the House will be committee hearings. It’s currently assigned to the House Public Health Committee. The public is able to testify for or against a bill during committee in both chambers. Here’s an article explaining how to testify:

How do I follow Indiana’s legislative session? Here’s your guide to demystify the process Indiana’s legislative session begins on Jan. 8. And lawmakers are writing the state’s next two-year budget. Hundreds of bills are filed every year, and it’s difficult for even journalists – who are...

Some additional resources:

If you aren’t sure how to follow this legislation or other legislation that’s important to you as it moves forward, here’s a guide that explains how the legislative process works in Indiana: