The (Munster) Times. September 27, 2019
Make Dunes national park designation count for more than visitors
The hard-fought designation of the Indiana Dunes as America's newest national park already is paying Region dividends.
Thanks to the designation, which became effective earlier this year, some 144,000 people visited the Indiana Dunes National Park this summer.
It marked a 20% increase from last year, which is significant given its former designation as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore already was drawing top visitor numbers among National Park Service sites.
Netting an additional 50,000 Region visitors is something to celebrate, and it didn't happen by accident.
Region leaders and citizens who worked so hard to win Indiana's first and only national park moniker for the Dunes deserve to take a bow.
But we didn't work so hard for this designation just to net new visitors. For full national park status to mean something, our Region needs to create opportunities for this tourist boom to become a real economic growth engine.
Unfortunately, since the name was changed, not much else has.
There are very limited hotel and restaurant options near the lakeshore. Parking near one of our state's greatest natural and recreational assets remains scant.
People are stopping and enjoying our signature outdoor features, but all too often, they get back in their cars and drive on to Chicago or other more desirable locations for lodging or other amenities — in large part because our supporting infrastructure is lacking.
We must make it a priority to build on our success and create opportunities for our visitors to spend more time and money in Northwest Indiana.
Entrepreneurs should be encouraged to take the lead by a supportive coalition of local governments and tourism agencies.
Through a bounty of hard work, we changed the name, and more people came.
But it's no time to rest on those laurels. Now we need to entice them to experience even more of our Region by giving them a reason to stay longer.
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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. September 26, 2019
Coverage concerns
Officials say they're confident the work requirement rules being implemented this year won't jeopardize insurance coverage for Hoosiers qualified for Medicaid benefits under HIP 2.0. The plan here has been structured more cautiously than plans in other states that have already been put on hold by the courts.
Some health care advocates here don't share that confidence.
A federal lawsuit filed this week on behalf of four Indiana residents - one of them a Fort Wayne educator - contends that the health care of thousands of citizens is jeopardized by the state's Gateway to Work requirements.
About 440,000 Hoosiers are enrolled in HIP 2.0. Under the plan designed by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, many recipients would be exempt from the paid-or-volunteer work requirements under more than a dozen exemptions, and FSSA SecretaryDr. Jennifer Walthall has said the goal is that no one gets bumped off the program.
"We are building this program unlike any other state in the country, with robust supports and pathways to ensure Hoosiers can easily skill up, volunteer in their community or get a better-paying job while driving towards better health outcomes," Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a statement this week.
"It's disappointing a lawsuit has been filed before the program has had an opportunity to prove its success."
But when should a suit be filed? After the damage some fear comes to pass? Thousands of recipients lost coverage before Arkansas' work requirement was stayed. The suit filed by Indiana Legal Services and the National Health Law Program notes a state-hired actuary estimated 24,000 people would lose benefits by not complying with the work requirement.
As The Journal Gazette's Niki Kelly reported, the lawsuit says one of the low-income Hoosiers whose coverage might be endangered is 54-year-old Mary Holbrock of Fort Wayne, who became eligible for Medicaid after she lost her full-time teaching job during the recession. Now working a fluctuating number of hours each week as a test grader, Holbrock, who has several serious health disorders, is currently classified as "medically frail," which would allow her to remain exempt from the work requirement.
But, the suit says, "her health plan has revoked her medically frail status twice without explanation, even though her health conditions had not improved." If Holbrock should lose that exemption again, according to the lawsuit, her fluctuating weekly hours might prevent her from meeting a required 20-hour-per-week minimum and get her jettisoned from HIP 2.0.
Could people such as Holbrock be given a break under Indiana's more compassionate approach to Medicaid work requirements? Would such recipients be able to stay covered only by navigating an endless sea of red tape?
The Indiana lawsuit, like the challenges in other states, disputes whether the Medicaid law even allows the federal government to sanction work requirements. The link between health care and work requirements cannot be found ineither the law itself or "half a century of administrative policy," the lawsuit contends. That is something for the courts to resolve.
Legalese aside, if it's true some of our neighbors could be denied crucial health coverage because the FSSA determines they don't work the right number of hours each week, will that be OK? Is that the proper role for the state?
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South Bend Tribune. September 25, 2019
An important date for Hoosier voters
Election Day is less than six weeks away, but there's another date that every responsible Hoosier should be aware of.
Oct. 7 is the last day to register for November's general election. That's less than two weeks away, so there's no time to waste to make sure you're registered to vote.
Among the races on the ballot: electing the successor to South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, with Republican Sean Haas facing Democrat James Mueller.
You can verify your registration status, find your polling place and look at the candidates on the ballot at IndianaVoters.com. Hoosiers can register to vote at their county voter registration office or at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles license branch.
Even as we encourage you to do your civic duty, it's hard to escape the reality of voter apathy and low turnout. Earlier this year, the May primary in South Bend followed a familiar and disappointing script: About 12,000 people voted citywide. While that was slightly up from the last mayoral primary in 2015, there was the prospect of at least five new faces on the Common Council, in addition to a wide-open mayor's race with nine candidates.
As we said at the time, about 12,000 voters made momentous decisions for a city of 100,000-plus. In the words of political scientist Larry Sabato, "Every election is determined by the people who show up." Make sure you're registered to vote — then show up on Election Day.
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