Family Voices Indiana

Welcome to the 7th edition of FV Indiana's Guide to the Legislative Session. This year brings a "long session" that began on January 7, 2013 and is expected to last through April 29, when a two year state budget will be set.  This session marks the first under the administration of Governor Mike Pence; also of political note, both the Indiana House and Senate maintain Republican majorities. This session will provide many opportunities for families to be involved, share your experience, and build relationships with legislators that will impact current and future decisions. This guide is intended to be a reference issue; in it you will find information on how a bill becomes a law, definitions and translations of acronyms and information on the House and Senate leadership. We encourage you to contact your legislators, make the effort to introduce yourself, share your perspective and continue to build a relationship. Watch FV Indiana and other sources for action alerts

By Emily McKinley, Health Information Specialist The Affordable Care Act will continue to unfold this year as the law prepares for full implementation in 2014. While consumers may not notice significant changes to coverage or delivery of care, it is important to note that four key provisions of the legislation will be implemented this year. First, the ACA will continue to promote preventative care by providing additional funding to state Medicaid programs that provide preventative care to consumers at little to no cost. Because preventative care decreases urgent and emergency health care visits as well as lowers overall health care costs, this is an important initiative that may result in lower long-term health care costs to taxpayers as well as individual consumers. In support of this provision, as well as many that have already been enacted, the second measure that will be implemented in 2013 will be to increase payments to Medicaid providers. Currently, many primary ca