On January 1, the applications came pouring in for the Healthy Indiana Plan, a state health coverage program for low-income residents.
There have been so many applicants the state is having a hard time handling them all, reported the Indianapolis Star.
After only a month, over 21,000 people have applied for coverage. But the state Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) has only processed around 6,000 applications.
The number of applicants surprised health officials — now they have to increase the number of people working for the program.
“We’re upping the number of people. [A]nd we’re becoming more efficient, ” said Mitch Roob, the secretary of the FSSA.
The Healthy Indiana Plan was passed last year to reduce the number of uninsured residents in the state. The new law raised cigarette taxes 44 cents to fund the program.
To be eligible for the state-subsidized health insurance plan, residents must have been uninsured for more than six months, their employer cannot offer coverage, and they must earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
“We’ve received more than 20,000 applications, and we’re only at the end of the first month. I think that’s just remarkable, ” said Secretary Roob to lawmakers in the Senate and House health committees.