News and Stories: FSSA's short-sightedness

This editorial appeared in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette on November 10, 2011.

Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration ignored state law and caused Indiana taxpayers to lose out on more than $7 million. Hoosiers are welcome to debate which is the more egregious blunder from the FSSA.

In 2005, state lawmakers voted nearly unanimously to pass a bill to expand Medicaid benefits to provide free birth control to low-income mothers who had recently given birth.

The law, which received strong bipartisan support, was expected to serve more than 27,000 women. Legislative services projected the law would save more than $7 million over five years.

Roughly 28 other states have similar legislation with successful results. According to the Center for Health Economic and Policy Studies at the Medical University of South Carolina, that state has saved an estimated $1.86 million annually since it passed its law in 1993.

Not only would the law save money, but health care experts also said it would improve the health and well-being of Hoosier mothers and babies. And it would unquestionably lead to fewer unwanted pregnancies and fewer abortions.

Giving birth within two years of a previous birth increases the risks to mothers and babies, because the mother’s body has had too little time to recover. A study from the Indiana Department of Health found that babies conceived within two years of a previous birth are more likely to be premature and have a low birth weight.

The law, which Gov. Mitch Daniels signed, required the FSSA’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning to apply for the Medicaid expansion before Jan. 1, 2006. But the FSSA and Daniels administration never completed the application process for the federal program that would provide the free birth control.

A spokeswoman for Daniels told the Indianapolis Star that the governor declined to comment when asked why the application was not completed.

The FSSA’s explanation for not following through is convoluted and weak. An FSSA spokesman told the Star the application was withdrawn for “clarifications and adjustments.”

In 2010, When lawmakers asked FSSA officials to explain, they were told the “FSSA no longer has the resources to fund the implementation.”

The state, which is supposed to be in the black, couldn’t find the estimated $1.36 million startup costs that were expected to save more than $7 million.

It is too late for the state to reap the savings and health benefits from the 2005 law – it expired in January. But this spring lawmakers approved a measure to allow Indiana to adopt the portion of President Obama’s health care reform that required the state to provide birth control and vasectomies to Hoosiers up to 133 percent of the poverty level by 2014 (the 2005 law provided free birth control only to women up to 200 percent of the poverty level who had already given birth).

Early implementation is also expected to save the state millions, but comes with an estimated $1 million start-up cost. It also requires the Indiana Medicaid office to submit an application by the end of the year. Daniels needs to make sure his administration does not miss this deadline.