INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly 100 Hoosiers gathered at the Statehouse on Tuesday, calling on lawmakers to take action to make healthcare more affordable with a particular focus on reducing the burden of medical debt.
According to the Indiana Action Poverty Institute, nearly one in five Hoosiers has some form of medical debt in collections. Legislation currently moving through the Statehouse would protect residents from losing their wages or homes due to unpaid medical bills.
"If it hadn't had been for Medicaid, we'd be hosed," said Joe Burgess, who is living with multiple sclerosis.
Burgess said one of his medications costs $56,000. Without Medicaid, he added, he would not be able to continue treatment, since Medicare only covers 80% of the cost.
"Without it I have a very hard time speaking. I have a hard time with my hands and my arms," Burgess said.
Burgess expressed concern that another measure at the Statehouse could harm families like his. Senate Bill 1 would require Medicaid recipients to prove their eligibility every six months instead of once a year. The bill’s author has said the change would help eliminate fraud and increase accountability.
Hoosier Action, a grassroots organization advocating for healthcare equity, disagrees.
"That accountability looks like more paperwork and more paperwork for people who are already struggling to make ends meet, who are already struggling to keep it together, and already have to go through an extensive verification process," said Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, Hoosier Action’s healthcare organizer and one of the event’s leaders.
While the group is opposing Senate Bill 1, its members are supporting three other bills aimed at protecting Hoosiers from wage garnishment due to medical debt. One proposal would set limits on how much debt collectors can seize. Another would require hospitals and insurance companies to take steps to prevent medical debt before it happens.
"Instead of spending time talking to lobbyists who get paid millions of dollars from these industries that benefit by denying our care, actually listen to people who live in your district," Hutchings-Goetz said.
Advocates spent the day meeting with lawmakers to share their personal stories about how medical debt has affected their lives. Senate Bill 85, which addresses medical debt and wage garnishment, is scheduled for a committee vote on Wednesday
___
