By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“We are no longer drowning in debt. Our head is above water. The question is: Can we keep it there?” — FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob
We’ve told you this week about how many Hoosiers have lost Medicaid coverage. Now, state officials say the state saved $300 million due to stricter oversight of the program.
Gov. Mike Braun suspended Indiana’s gas taxes for another 30 days, despite telling reporters recently he had exhausted his authority.
The governor also spoke about a recent firing of a utility regulator — and we tell you what to expect next on a controversial rate hike.
Plus, President Donald Trump wants permanent daylight saving time.
Indiana Family & Social Services Administration Secretary Mitch Roob pictured in an AC/DC-inspired hat commemorating the agency’s budget turnaround. (Photo by Mackenzi Klemann/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana Medicaid ‘back in black’
By Mackenzi Klemann
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration returned $310 million to the state’s general fund this year, a dramatic turnaround for an agency once staring down a $1 billion deficit for Medicaid.
FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob credited the reversal to a series of reforms the agency enacted during his tenure: regular financial reviews, must-return mailers, stricter oversight of Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy and urging senior Medicaid members to enter into dual enrollment with Medicare — without any changes to eligibility.
The pump prices at an Indianapolis gas station on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Tom Davies/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Braun announces new energy emergency, continues Indiana’s gas tax suspension
By Tom Davies
Indiana’s gasoline tax holiday will continue for at least a little while longer.
Gov. Mike Braun issued a new executive order Wednesday extending the suspension of the state’s gas taxes for 30 days.
Braun on Wednesday cited a new reason for the emergency — the conflict in Ukraine instead of the war in Iran. He also cited a disruption to the Alberta Oil Sands Region from Canadian wildfires.
COMMENTARY
Workers install solar power modules for producing electricity on the roof of a house. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)
The problem with going solar in Indiana
By Gabriel Bosslet
Over the past year, I have been noodling over the possibility of installing solar panels on my roof. This simple curiosity eventually turned into action — I got several quotes for what solar installation might cost.
It was at that point that I discovered a 2017 Indiana state law that makes installing solar financially difficult for individual homeowners but quite profitable for electric companies.
NATIONAL NEWS
President Donald Trump wants the U.S. Senate to agree with the House and pass a measure called the “Sunshine Protection Act” that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. (Getty Images)
Trump urges US Senate to pass bill making daylight saving time permanent
By Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is urging Republican senators to “release their holds” and pass a measure making daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
A bipartisan bill passed the House in July but faces hurdles in the Senate, where members from both parties have pushed back against ending the semiannual clock changes.
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