In 2019, a community-university research team engaged current and potential HIP members for their expertise on how HIP (Healthy Indiana Plan) was working or not working as they sought to enroll and use its health benefits. Community partners, First Baptist Church North Indianapolis and Shepherd Community Center, ensured trustworthy connections with study participants, Our team interacted with over 40 HIP-eligible people through in-depth interviews, problem-solving focus groups, and two community partner-produced videos.
First-hand users of the HIP program identified important helps, including direct assistance from navigators, social workers, and care coordinators and ongoing support from trusted community organizations. They also identified hindrances, ranging from administrative barriers in application processes, document handling, and financial payments to other barriers with transportation, stigma, and stress.
As HIP returns to its pre-pandemic rules, understanding how these barriers limit people’s health care access and harm personal wellness is once again critical.
RESEARCH REPORT
Our 2019 Research Report documents HIP members’ accounts of the program’s benefits to their health as well obstacles to their successful use of it. According to Indiana data, under pre-pandemic rules:
- one in four HIP enrollees lost coverage each year, and
- African-Americans were under-enrolled in the more comprehensive HIP Plus plan, compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
Our Report includes recommendations, such as developing clear visuals to communicate the HIP program’s benefits and rules, which is the purpose this website.