Indianapolis – Today, in spite of public pressure from more than 80 organizations, the Indiana House of Representatives passed SB 1, which adds new requirements to SNAP and Medicaid, after refusing to accept numerous amendments designed to mitigate harm, including:

• An amendment adding language to exempt people with cancer from the new Medicaid work reporting requirement
• An amendment adding language to allow education hours count toward the 80 hours required per month for Medicaid work reporting requirements
• An amendment removing language to lower the amount Hoosier families on SNAP can having in a savings account or cash to $3000, punishing families who manage to save for an emergency or stable housing
• An amendment reducing the proposed three months of *pre-enrollment* work requirement compliance for health insurance

SB 1 adopts the new federal work reporting requirements for Medicaid, but is even harsher. For example, it does not include short term exemptions from the work requirements that are allowed under federal law, such as for people who are:

• Receiving inpatient hospital care, nursing facility services, services in an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, inpatient psychiatric care, or other services of similar acuity (including related outpatient care
• Living in a county impacted by a federally declared emergency or disaster
• Living in a county with a high unemployment rate (at or above the lesser of 8% or 150% of the national unemployment rate
• Traveling for an extended period to access medically necessary care for a serious or complex medical condition that is not available in the individual/their dependent(s)’ community

It also requires people to document that they have complied with the work requirements for three months before they can be considered eligible for coverage.

“The refusal to adopt protections that are allowed under federal law or accept commonsense amendments to SB 1 is baffling,” said Erin Macey, Director of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute. “An estimated one in four Hoosiers will experience a significant medical event that takes them out of the workforce during their working lives. We all need a strong safety net – and SB 1 is going to make programs like SNAP and Medicaid even harder to access for those who need them.”

“We are deeply worried that SB 1 will cause Hoosiers to go hungry, to lose health care coverage, and to accrue medical debt,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “In an affordability crisis, putting more barriers in front of food and health care supports is taking us in the wrong direction for Hoosiers. At a time when our state is being graded on how many mistakes we make with SNAP benefits, the results of which will already cost us at least $143 million, adding more red tape will become even more expensive. Our only hope now is that lawmakers reject this bill.”

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