The 2023 legislative session demonstrated that it is possible for everyday Hoosiers organized across race, place, and party to achieve and fund a common goal, like creating a new emergency crisis response system, lobbyists representing the wealthy few and big corporations continue to exercise the majority of influence at Indiana’s Statehouse. This report attempts to shed light on Indiana’s 2023 legislative session and provide insight into the process to create greater public accountability for the decisions made at the Statehouse.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center
While Medicaid improves the health and lives of recipients and benefits the healthcare system and the US economy, Medicaid systems for enrollment, renewal/redetermination, and using Medicaid coverage need improvement. All people who meet Medicaid eligibility criteria are guaranteed coverage. However, many who are eligible struggle to enroll in and maintain Medicaid coverage. Barriers to obtaining and renewing coverage and accessing services often make it challenging and time-consuming to navigate the system. Many who successfully enrolled face further dissatisfaction and stress as Medicaid leaves their needs unaddressed.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center in conjunction with Peoples Action Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.
Medicaid is an essential program that provides health services for individuals and families who otherwise would not be able to afford them. In Indiana, 32.6% of residents, or 2 million individuals, are enrolled in Medicaid. Medicaid improves health outcomes for recipients, improves their financial stability, saves lives, creates thousands of jobs that bolster our local economies, and helps reduce economic and racial disparities in health insurance and healthcare access. However, while anyone who is eligible for Medicaid is guaranteed coverage, many eligible Indiana residents struggle to enroll in and maintain Medicaid coverage. Even when enrolled, many struggle to get access to the services that they need.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center in conjunction with Peoples Action Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.
Indiana’s 2022 legislative session began with a surprise: as a result of the hard work of Hoosier families and the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the state projected $3.3 billion more in revenue, bumping up Indiana’s 2022 financial reserves to $5.1 billion. This unanticipated budget surplus provided the Indiana General Assembly with the opportunity to move Indiana out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a better today and a brighter future by funding a compassionate Indiana today and investing in a stronger, more equitable Indiana for tomorrow. Unfortunately, some powerful politicians at the Statehouse both ignored the immediate needs of Hoosiers today and failed to seize the moment to begin building a better tomorrow. Instead, they spent much of the legislative session trying to divide and distract Hoosiers with bills that falsely pit urban against rural, teacher against parent, and poor against well-to-do Hoosiers.
Indiana’s 2022 legislative session began with a surprise: as a result of the hard work of Hoosier families and the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the state projected $3.3 billion more in revenue, bumping up Indiana’s 2022 financial reserves to $5.1 billion. This unanticipated budget surplus provided the Indiana General Assembly with the opportunity to move Indiana out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a better today and a brighter future by funding a compassionate Indiana today and investing in a stronger, more equitable Indiana for tomorrow. Unfortunately, some powerful politicians at the Statehouse both ignored the immediate needs of Hoosiers today and failed to seize the moment to begin building a better tomorrow. Instead, they spent much of the legislative session trying to divide and distract Hoosiers with bills that falsely pit urban against rural, teacher against parent, and poor against well-to-do Hoosiers.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center
For the past three years, Hoosier Action has worked in coalition with other Indiana community organizations and businesses to try to improve the conditions of pregnant workers, and uplift the voices of the workers who have been forced to choose between their paycheck and a healthy pregnancy. For too long, Hoosiers have been plagued by shamefully high rates of maternal and infant mortality rates. According to the CDC, the preterm birth rate in Indiana is 10.2% and the state’s maternal mortality rate is amongst the worst in the country. Reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers–which are often no- or low-cost but high-impact—can help to prevent complications including low birth weight, preterm birth, preeclampsia, and more.
Corporate Captive: Big Business at the Indiana General Assembly*, a new report released by Hoosier Action Resource Center, reveals how corporate power exercised an outsized influence at the 2021 session of the Indiana General Assembly undermining Indiana’s democracy and causing harms to everyday Hoosiers. In 2020, 91% of all campaign contributions made to Indiana General Assembly candidates came from PACS and large donors. By profiling the campaign contributions and lobbying efforts of four major industry lobbies, Corporate Captive reveals how the priorities of this small, but powerful donor class, shaped the outcomes of Indiana’s legislative process.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center
Statewide grassroots organizing and legal opposition pressured the state of Indiana to suspend a harmful proposal to implement work requirements in the state’s Medicaid program on October 31, 2019. With funding from Community Catalyst’s Health Justice. Fund, Hoosier Action, implemented a campaign to ensure accessible and affordable care for all. This case study highlights the innovative organizing and campaign work of Hoosier Action, a member-led, multi-issue organization that organizes rural and small-town Hoosiers, as they worked to suspend the state’s Medicaid work requirement.
On March 23, 2020 Governor Eric Holcomb issued an executive order shutting down all but essential activities to stop the spread of COVID-19. Businesses shuttered and children were kept home from school as Hoosiers transformed their lives to protect their own health and the health of their neighbors. Many Hoosiers already struggled to make ends meet, but they found ways to support one another during a year like none other. This should have been a call for our leaders to recognize and honor our suffering and to take bold action to create a better future. But for too many lawmakers, the pandemic provided cover to ignore their constituents while favoring powerful, monied interests. This report details the struggles Hoosiers have faced over the last year, the failure of the legislature to advance bills to support everyday Hoosiers, and how we can move forward toward a brighter future for all people in Indiana.
*This report was published by Hoosier Action Resource Center