
By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“We will help you to prove to us that you are eligible, but ultimately, particularly the HIP members who are able-bodied adults, they are responsible for documenting that they are in fact eligible.” — Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Mitch Roob
The Medicaid system is set to get another big jolt in 2027 when work requirements hit. State officials and stakeholders are trying to prepare Hoosiers for what’s coming.
State lawmakers doubled public defender fees in 2024, but the money isn’t making its way to Indiana coffers to cover the cost of defense.
Some states are cracking down on surveillance pricing.
Plus, the last May primary recount was rescheduled to next week.

Rep. Wendy Dant Chesser, D-Jeffersonville, speaks about Indiana’s Medicaid program during an interview at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. She said lawmakers should work with state officials to monitor the impact of upcoming Medicaid changes. (Photo by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
More potential upheaval awaits Indiana Medicaid as work requirements, new rules arrive
By Casey Smith
After more than a year of eligibility reviews that have already removed hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers from Medicaid, the state's low-income health insurance program is entering a new phase that could determine whether even more beneficiaries lose their coverage.
Over the next 18 months, Indiana is expected to implement a series of state and federal policy changes that will require more frequent eligibility renewals with additional verification and, for many adults, new work or community engagement reporting requirements to maintain Medicaid coverage.

The constitutional right to a defense lawyer in criminal cases carries a price tag. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Shortchanged public defense fees risk funding crunch, agency says
By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
County collections of public defense fees designated for the state of Indiana are far below expectations, even as expenditures for the constitutionally mandated service hit record highs.
Hoosiers who've been accused of crimes but can't afford private counsel have the right to public defense under the U.S. and Indiana constitutions. It's not cheap.
NATIONAL NEWS

A few states have enacted laws to limit surveillance pricing, which uses a customer’s personal data to set prices. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)
States begin banning ‘surveillance pricing’ that uses personal data to charge more
By Robbie Sequeira
Three states this year became the first ones to enact laws restricting companies from using personal data such as browsing history or shopping habits to set individualized prices on goods and services, a practice known as surveillance pricing.
The laws in Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey take different approaches to which retailers and products they cover, the discount exceptions they allow and how violations are enforced.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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