INDIANA — The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) is undergoing a massive hiring surge, adding 400 employees to verify the eligibility of roughly 560,000 Hoosiers enrolled in the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP).
The initiative, which began last month, has already seen 50 new state employees onboarded. According to FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow, the hiring blitz is a direct response to a shifting landscape of state and federal mandates requiring more frequent eligibility audits.
The expansion of the FSSA workforce is designed to prepare for new “personal responsibility” measures coming to Medicaid:
A nationwide federal mandate work requirement for Medicaid expansion programs is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.
While state-level work requirements were originally blocked by Congress, Indiana has moved to “align” with new federal rules. Under legislation signed by Governor Mike Braun, Indiana will implement a three-month work history requirement—the strictest look-back period allowed under federal law.
Enrollees will eventually be required to spend at least 80 hours per month working, volunteering, attending school, or participating in a state-approved work program to maintain coverage.
FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob emphasized that the hiring spree is about returning the Healthy Indiana Plan to its original intent: serving the “working poor.”
“Our responsibility message is simple,” Roob stated during a quarterly financial meeting on Tuesday. “We will meet you with assistance, but you must meet us with effort.”
The hiring of eligibility officers coincides with a broader effort by the FSSA to rein in state Medicaid costs, which have grown at a rate of 9.5% over the last several decades. Recent actions include:
- Audit Recovery: The FSSA is currently seeking to recover $200 million in “improper payments” from attendant care providers following a massive audit.
- Enrollment Decline: Through renewed eligibility checks, the state has already removed approximately 400,000 Hoosiers from Medicaid rolls in the past year.
- Drug Reimbursement: The agency recently announced plans to end Medicaid drug reimbursements for certain 340B federal drug pricing programs, a move expected to save the state $63 million annually.
Advocates for the poor have expressed concern that the increased “red tape” and the three-month work verification rule may cause thousands of eligible Hoosiers—particularly those with nontraditional jobs or caregiving responsibilities—to lose their health insurance.
