INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 23, 2015)– The Federal Government will pick up nearly the entire tab for a program that provides health insurance to low and moderate income Indiana children.
Despite the Federal Government picking up the bill for the State’s insurance program, Governor Mike Pence still hopes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be repealed.
Keeping Indiana’s children healthy and providing access to health insurance is the goal of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
That program is being funded almost entirely over the next two years by the Affordable Care Act.
“We welcome a short term increase in federal funding,” said Pence.
Still, Pence says he still fully supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, even though the Act is helping more than 73,000 Hoosier kids enrolled in CHIP last year.
“I’d like to see Obamacare repealed and have Washington DC start over with reform based on consumer choice and without mandates and regulations,” said Pence.
Initially, the feds planned to pay 76 cents of every dollar to pay for CHIP.
Instead, the federal government agreed to pay more than 99 percent, but Pence says his objections to the ACA will never go away.
“I`ll never believe the cure for what ails health care is to order every American to buy health insurance,” said Pence.
A spokesman with the Indiana Democratic Party says the governor should just admit the Affordable Care Act is benefiting thousands of Hoosier families.
“Mike Pence should finally come clean and admit to Hoosiers that the Affordable Care Act was the right thing to do for Indiana,” said Drew Anderson.
For his part, Pence says even if the Affordable Care Act disappeared tomorrow, State lawmakers working with the feds could find other ways to fund programs like CHIP.
“Those programs that existed before Obamacare would exist after and I`d like to see Washington, D.C. start over,” said Pence.
The additional money will total $25 million over the next two years.
