Health Insurance Information

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is the comprehensive health care reform legislation developed and signed into law under President Obama’s administration in 2010. It addresses health insurance coverage, health care costs, and preventive care. (Source: https://www.hhs.gov/answers/affordable-care-act/what-is-the-affordable-care-act/index.html)

To learn about the Affordable Care Act and updates about it since it was signed into law, visit ObamaCareFacts (https://obamacarefacts.com/). ObamaCareFacts is an independent informational site. It is privately owned and is not owned or operated by the U.S. Federal or state government.

In order to investigate different health plans and options under the Affordable Care Act, visit Healthcare.gov (https://www.healthcare.gov/), which is the main Federal government website for health coverage. It is managed and paid for by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

To find more information about the Affordable Care Act within Indiana, visit the state of Indiana’s website by clicking here (https://www.in.gov/aca/).

If you have questions about health coverage through the Federal government, you can visit the Frequently Asked Question webpage (https://www.healthcare.gov/get-answers/) at Healthcare.gov or call the Help Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). The Help Center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except holidays.

Other informational materials about the Affordable Care Act may be found at The Center for Information & Insurance Oversight (http://www.cms.gov/cciio/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/index.html#Affordable Care Act).

The state of Indiana offers three types of health insurance coverage to residents: Medicaid for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled; the Healthy Indiana plan (HIP); and Hoosier Healthwise.

What are the differences between each of the health insurance coverages provided by the state of Indiana?

• Medicaid for the Aged, Blind, Disabled provides health care coverage to low income individuals who are eligible for home and community-based services, who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, or who live in nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled, or state-operated facilities. To learn more, click here (https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/221.htm).

• Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) covers uninsured adults ages 19-64 who are not eligible for other types of medical coverage. HIP does have some additional provisions required by federal law for unique populations such as the medically frail and Native Americans. To learn more about HIP, visit this website (https://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/).

• Hoosier Healthwise is for children and pregnant women with low income. It covers medical care such as doctor visits, prescription medicine, mental healthcare, dental care, hospitalizations, surgeries, and family planning at little or no cost. Children up to 19 years of age may be eligible for coverage. To learn more, click here (https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/174.htm).

Applicants may choose to apply for benefits one of three ways: mail via a paper application, telephone, and online. (Note: Because of the COVID-19 situation, applying online is the most effective way to get your benefits started.)

Applicants will need this information in order to determine eligibility.

• Names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of everyone in the household
• Proof of income/resources/expenses
• Proof of citizenship
• Proof of Indiana residency
• Information about other insurance coverages
• Tax information

Note: Unlike SNAP or TANF benefits, health insurance coverage in Indiana bases income eligibility on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which can be found on your most recent tax return.

In order to complete an application via telephone, please call 1-800-403-0864. For those applicants wishing to complete and mail the paper application, it can be found through the FSSA Benefits Portal. The library can print an application for you at the Information Desk. Please call either Kennedy Library at 747-8209 or Maring-Hunt Library at 747-8204, and staff would be happy to assist you with this.

Once you have completed the paper application, please mail or fax it and accompanying materials requested to:

FSSA Document Center
P.O. Box 1810
Marion, IN 46952

1-800-403-0864

If applying online, go to the FSSA Benefits Portal at https://fssabenefits.in.gov/bp/#/ in order to begin your application for health coverage.

For health coverage, applications typically take 45-60 minutes. The FSSA office typically has a 45 day processing time for Medicaid, Hoosier Healthwise and HIP applications. Medicaid can take up to 90 days if FSSA needs to make a disability determination.

Once the application has been processed, the FSSA requires a telephone interview. The appointment date and time will be sent via mail to the applicants home. After the interview, the applicant will receive a list via mail of items needed to verify household information that will be time sensitive. (Note: Make sure to regularly check your mail.)

List of Verifications:

• Income and Resources
  • Pay Stubs from last 30 days of income
  • Checking/Savings account balance information, rent/mortgage, utility bills
• Citizenship and Indiana Residency
  • Birth certificate or Permanent Resident Card
  • State-issued identification
• Tax Relationships and Household Composition
  • Tax returns like 1040 or IT-40

Once that is completed, the applicant will receive a notice in the mail regarding approval or denial of benefits.

If you need help finding the right healthcare coverage or application assistance, trained and certified individuals called Navigators can help you with this process. You can find local navigators at the following websites.

• Healthcare.gov (https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/#/)
• State of Indiana (https://www.in.gov/healthcarereform/2468.htm)
• Covering Kids and Families of Indiana (https://www.ckfindiana.org/)

Be cautious with offers that sound "too good to be true," as they may be scams. To protect yourself from fraud, follow these guidelines (https://www.healthcare.gov/how-can-i-protect-myself-from-fraud-in-the-health-insurance-marketplace/) from Healthcare.gov. This site also tells you when and how to report suspected fraud.

You can also follow the latest fraud alerts within Indiana (https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2336.htm) through the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office. Consumers may also file a complaint or report a data breach through this website.