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State seeks to continue the successful Healthy Indiana Plan for low-income Hoosiers

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Extension would add access for drug abuse treatment to attack the epidemic

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb formally submitted the state’s application to the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) along with a letter requesting continued flexibility to maintain and develop the current version of the Healthy Indiana Plan, commonly known as HIP 2.0, which expires January 31, 2018. If approved, HIP would continue through Jan. 31, 2021.

The application requests program enhancements, including expanded access to substance use disorder services. Pending approval, these additional services would be available for members in all Medicaid programs as well as Healthy Indiana Plan members.

“Far too many Hoosiers are caught in the strangling grip of drugs,” Governor Holcomb said. “I intend to attack Indiana’s drug epidemic with every tool available to state government, and this application reflects my commitment to doing just that.”

The waiver application, posted online at www.hip.in.gov, maintains the core elements of HIP 2.0, including member contributions and consumer-driven features that encourage preventive care, while discouraging unhealthy behaviors and lifestyle choices that drive up the cost of health care.

The newly proposed waiver also adds new incentives for members to improve their health through tobacco cessation, chronic disease management, and access to a voluntary job referral and training program.

“The Healthy Indiana Plan continues to evolve to address the most pressing health and economic needs of low-income Hoosiers,” said Indiana Family and Social Services Secretary Jennifer Walthall, MD, MPH. “This next iteration will add more of what HIP does best: adding value for members who choose to engage in their health and incentivizing good, healthy choices.”

“Indiana has built a program that is delivering real results in a responsible, efficient, and effective way,” Governor Holcomb said. “I look forward to maintaining the flexibility to grow this remarkably successful tool and to preserve our ability to respond to the unique needs of Hoosiers.”

Read Governor Holcomb’s letter and Indiana’s waiver application at www.hip.in.gov.

Eagles crack Top 25, host Missouri S&T and No. 9 Drury

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University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball has cracked the Top 25 for the first time since January 22, 2013 thanks to the four-game winning streak it takes into its 5:30 p.m. game Thursday against Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Missouri S&T.

 

The Screaming Eagles (18-3, 10-1 GLVC) begin the week in a tie for No. 20 in the Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA, and are essentially No. 26 with 46 votes in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll. USI, which hosts No. 9 Drury University Saturday at 1 p.m. for Homecoming, also is ranked No. 20 by Herosports.com.

 

USI, which enters the week in sole possession of first-place in the GLVC East Division, is coming off road wins over Saint Joseph’s College (85-66) and the University of Indianapolis (58-47). Senior guard Tanner Marcum (New Albany, Indiana) averaged 16.5 points and 3.0 steals per game, while junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom (Grayslake, Illinois) chipped in 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per contest.

 

On the year, Marcum is second on the team with 13.5 points and 3.4 assists per game, while junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms (Marshall, Illinois) is averaging a team-best 15.6 points per appearance.

 

Missouri S&T (8-11, 3-8 GLVC) has won two of the last three games after suffering through a seven-game losing streak. Junior guard Janie Arand averages 10.1 points per game to lead the Miners, who opened the year by winning six of their first nine games.

 

Drury (19-2, 11-0 GLVC), which begins the week with a trip to No. 15 Bellarmine University Thursday, has won 11 straight games and sits atop the GLVC West Division standings. Junior guard Heather Harman averages 16.4 points and 4.1 assists per game to lead the Panthers, who have four players averaging in double-figures this year.

 

Both games this weekend will be aired on WSWI 95.7 FM and on the GLVC Sports Network. GLVCSN coverage along with live stats and audio can be accessed at GoUSIEagles.com.

 

 

USI Women’s Basketball Notes

  • Eagles move into sole possession of first place in GLVC East.Senior guard Tanner Marcumaveraged 16.5 points and 3.0 steals per game as USI Women’s Basketball moved into sole possession of first place in the GLVC East Division with its 2-0 week. The Eagles started the week with an 85-66 win over Saint Joseph’s Thursday and ended the week with a 58-47 win over Indianapolis. Junior forward Morgan Dahlstrom added a double-double with 12.5 points and a team-best 10.5 rebounds per game for the Eagles, who were aided by Bellarmine’s loss to Indianapolis Thursday.

 

  • Two more road wins for Eagles.USI picked up two more road wins last week to remain unbeaten away from the Physical Activities Center. USI is 8-0 on the road this year and 1-0 in neutral site games.

 

  • USI can clinch GLVC Tournament berth.The Eagles can clinch a spot in the GLVC Tournament Thursday with a win over Missouri S&T.

 

  • 20-win plateau in reach.With seven games remaining in the regular-season and at least one post-season game all but assured, the Eagles are just two wins shy of reaching the 20-win plateau for the 10th time in program history. Each of the previous nine times USI has won 20 or more games, the Eagles have advanced to the NCAA II Tournament.

 

  • USI cracks Top 25.The Eagles have cracked the Top 25 for the first time since January 22, 2013. USI is tied for No. 20 in this week’s Division II Media Poll and is essentially No. 26 with 46 votes in the WBCA Coaches’ Poll. USI also is ranked No. 20 in the latest Herosports.comDivision II rankings.

 

  • Eagles looking to match longest win streak.The Eagles are looking to match their longest winning streak of the season when they take on Missouri S&T Thursday. USI has followed each of its three losses this year with winning streaks of at least four games, but have not won more than five straight games at any point this year.

 

  • Marcum reaches 1,000-point plateau, Grooms next?Senior guard Tanner Marcumbecame the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in USI’s win over Indianapolis. Junior guard/forward Kaydie Grooms is the next closest USI player to 1,000 points as she needs just 105 to become the 17th player in program history to eclipse the mark.

 

  • Trends.Senior guard Tanner Marcumis averaging a team-best 21.4 points per game in USI’s last five outings, while junior guard Randa Harshbarger is chipping in 11.0 points per contest in that same span. Senior forward Hannah Wascher and junior forward Morgan Dahlstromeach are averaging 8.2 rebounds per game in the last five outings.

 

  • Upcoming events.Thursday’s game against Missouri S&T is Heart Awareness Night, while Saturday’s game against Drury is Homecoming. USI will be in pink uniforms for its Play4Kay game against Illinois Springfield February 16, while Senior Day is February 18 against McKendree.

 

  • Wascher puts up big numbers.Senior forward Hannah Wascherhas put up big numbers in her collegiate career. Including two seasons at Parkland, Wascher has racked up 1,793 career points and 1,073 career rebounds.

 

  • Scouting the opposition (S&T).Junior guard Janie Arand averages 10.1 points per game to lead the Miners, who have won two of their last three games after suffering through a seven-game losing streak. Missouri S&T won six of its first nine games prior to the seven-game slide.

 

  • Last year against S&T.The Miners shot 52.8 percent from the field and sank half of their 18 three-point field goal attempts en route to a 76-69 win over the Eagles. Hannah Wascher had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles, who erased a nine-point first-quarter deficit before going into a double-digit hole in the fourth quarter.

 

  • Scouting the opposition (Drury).Junior guard Heather Harman averages 16.4 points and 4.1 assists per game to lead the Panthers, who have won 11 straight games. Drury has four players averaging in double-figures, including freshman forward Hailey Diestelkamp, who is averaging 11.5 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game.

 

  • Last year against Drury.The Panthers drained 11 three-pointers en route to a 70-56 win over the Eagles in Springfield, Missouri, last year. USI traded leads with Drury in the opening half, but after going into the break in a 34-34 tie, the Panthers outscored the Eagles 26-11 in the first 11 minutes of the second half to create separation between the two teams.

 

Tire thieves hits east side car lot

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Evansville Police are investigating a theft of tires and rims from Kenny Kent Chevrolet at 4600 E Division. The theft happened around 8:00am on January 22.
Police believe two men took 4 tires and rims off of a truck that was parked on the dealership lot.
During the investigation, police learned that the men had also stolen a license plate from another truck at a nearby business. That plate was left behind at the Kenny Kent lot.
The men were traveling on a Chevy truck and a Cadillac SUV. The truck has a decal along the top of the rear window. Anyone who recognizes the man or the vehicles seen in the attached surveillance images are being asked to call EPD at 812-436-7979 or WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME.

EPD Activity Report

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EPD Report

Vanderburgh County Recent Booking Records

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http://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/recent-booking-records.aspx

IS IT TRUE JANUARY 31, 2017

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IS IT TRUE that the reputation of Mayor Winnecke that he has an uncanny ability to perfect the bait and switch?…first, we had the 10 story hotel with upscale apartments and a roof top lounge, indoor swimming pool, UV windows, central A/C, etc?  … the reality is that downtown Evansville now actually has a 5 story hotel, outdoor swimming pool, no roof top lounge,with upscale apartment, regular windows, cheap light fixtures, and in-room A/C & Heat?  …even after this project has been “cheapen down” the City of Evansville taxpayers are still going to pay $21 million dollars towards this project?  …we wonder if the $21 million seed money for this project is going to be repaid to the taxpayers of Evansville or will it be gifted to the developer?

IS IT TRUE a similar situation has happened with the proposed downtown IU Medical School?…the City of Evansville appropriated $57 million dollars under a deal with the state to match $50 million dollars? …instead its now reported that the State only came up with only$25 million dollars?  … with the elimination of Ivy Techs 1,500 students from this project the City’s still is going to kick-in the $57 million dollars?  …it looks like the promise made to the citizens of this community, Ivy Tech students, and faculty, turned out to be nothing but a broken political promises in order to get the City Council and the Mayor to guarantee $57 millions of dollars to fund and build the downtown IU Medical?  …in our world we call this “a breach of contract”?  ...we wonder if the $57 million seed money for this project is going to be repaid to the taxpayers of Evansville or will it be gifted to the developer?

IS IT TRUE that at the beginning of 2017 the Evansville General Fund has bills on the Accounts Payable register of $8 million?…only a short three years earlier that Accounts Payable was only $2.8 million?…this does not include what is owed for medical services for our employees in the amount of $6 million that just keeps growing every month?…the long term obligation that is not spoken about often is the obligation associated with Retirement Benefits promised to employees for a lifetime of service?…the State of Kentucky reportedly only has 8% of the cash reserves needed to meet the retirement obligations?…without a tax increase Kentucky retires may be left out in the cold in 3 short years?…the question becomes, what is the status of the reserve account that the City of Evansville has to cover retirement obligations?…we bet that number is extremely ugly?

IS IT TRUE the last time the City’s General Fund run a surplus was the last year of Mayor Weinzapfel’s administration and the surplus was over $3 million dollars, thus the reason for the research concerning the behind the scenes efforts of Mosby & McGinn evidenced by the City Council Attorney Josh Claybourn September 7, 2016 “Memo/Letter”?…the surplus that Weinzapfel boasted about would have been a big deficit if his administration would have had to pay for the note on his pride and joy known as the Ford Center?…Weinzapfel may have had a good year or two, but his adventures with fun and games and temples to sports has Evansville poised to struggle financially for many years into the future?

IS IT TRUE we are hearing that City Council President Missy Mosby (D) and At-Large CityCouncilman Jonathan Weaver (D) may be attracting some early competition when they run for re-election?  …we have been told that a group of lifelong Democrats are quietly organizing a search committee to recruit loyal and well known Democrats to take on both individuals when they run for re-election?  …don’t be surprised that members of local law enforcement and firefighters will be involved in the effort to retire Ms. Mosby  and Mr. Weaver from local politics?

IS IT TRUE that the $18 million dollar North Main street “BIKE LANE” project has claimed another business causality this week?  …that the Burger King fast food restaurant located on North Main street has just closed its door after serving that area for many decades?  …it looks like the projection by City officials that this project will attract new business activity may have back fired?

IS IT TRUE we wonder when the taxpayers of Evansville are going to attend a City Council meeting and confront our elected officials and tell them we are feed up with them wasting our hard earned tax dollars?

FOOTNOTE: TODAYS “READERS POLL” question is: Do you support Evansville City Council increasing our Local Option Income Tax?

CHANNEL 44 NEWS: USI AND UE PRESIDENTS ISSUE STATEMENTS ON TRUMPS IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION

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USI and UE Presidents Issue Statements on Trump’s Immigration Restriction

With Trump’s current executive order on immigration restriction, two Evansville college presidents, Linda Bennett (USI) and Tom Kazee (UE) have issued statements. President Donald Trump enacted an immigration restriction order that includes a 90-day…

7th Circuit Strikes Down Portions Of Indiana Vaping Law

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7th Circuit Strikes Down Portions Of Indiana Vaping Law

Olivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com

A federal court has struck down portions of Indiana’s controversial vaping law, holding that the “astoundingly specific provisions” related to regulations of security, cleanliness and other physical requirements imposed on out-of-state manufacturers violates federal law and seems to imply a state attempt to create a monopoly for an Indiana security firm.

After Indiana lawmakers passed the Vapor Pens and E-Liquids Act in 2015, three out-of-state manufacturers – Legato Vapors, Rocky Mountain E Cigs and Derb E Cigs, sued members of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief against the out-of-state provisions. The act required out-of-state manufacturers to meet highly specific security standards, including the requirement that they contract with independent security firms, and imposed additional regulations related to cleanliness and audits.

The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, and district court Judge Sarah Evans Barker awarded summary judgment to the state. However, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision Monday, holding that the 2015 legislation violated the dormant Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits extraterritorial state regulation of commerce.

Looking specifically at the act’s “remarkably specific” security requirements, Judge David Hamilton, writing for the unanimous panel, noted that only one company, “located not so coincidentally in Indiana,” met the criteria of the vaping legislation and would get the approval of the ATC.

According to Indianapolis Business Journal, the rules gave a single security company—Lafayette-based Mulhaupt’s—the ability to choose which firms could operate in Indiana. And the law change was championed by a Lafayette lawmaker, Sen. Ron Alting.

Further, before the provisions of the act, Hamilton wrote that 99 percent of e-liquid revenue in Indiana came from out-of-state production. But now, only six manufacturers meet the security requirements to sell in Indiana, with four of those manufacturers based in the Hoosier state.

“These circumstances raise obvious concerns about protectionist purposes and what looks very much like a legislative grant of a monopoly to one favored in-state company in the security business,” the judge wrote.

But looking beyond the potential of a state-created monopoly, Hamilton further wrote that
the state may not try to achieve its security and safety goals “by direct extraterritorial regulation of the manufacturing processes …”
Further, the 7th Circuit held that the “clean room” requirements in the 2015 vaping legislation, which regulates the environment for all mixing and bottling activity, also violate the Commerce Clause. The court noted the requirements “(go) so far as to order out-of-state e-liquid manufacturers to wash their equipment with specific cleansers in specific sinks.”

Finally, the appellate court ruled that requirements subjecting out-of-state manufacturers to random audits by the ATC “are invalid direct regulations of interstate commerce insofar as they relate to enforcement of Indiana’s requirements for facility design and production operations.”

2017 Spring Citizen’s Academy Announcement

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The Evansville Police Department would like to invite the citizens of our community to attend our 2017 ten week Citizen’s Academy Spring session. Well over a thousand citizens have attended this program since its inception over twenty years ago.

Those attending this session of the Citizen’s Academy will be the first to use the Evansville Police Department’s firearms simulator. This will allow attendees to take part in realistic interactive “Shoot / Don’t Shoot Scenarios”.

The EPD Citizen’s Academy provides the community with the opportunity to see firsthand how the various units of the police department operate. The goal of the Citizen’s Academy is to help create a better understanding of the department and provide improved communications between the citizens of Evansville and the members of the E.P.D. who serve.

The Citizen’s Academy is free of charge and will be held each Tuesday beginning March 7th and continuing through May 16th from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm at the Evansville Police Department Foundation Training Room (located at the C.K. Newsome Center/ 100 E. Walnut Street / Evansville, Indiana).

Please see the attached Citizen’s Academy flyer and for further information or visit http://www.evansvillepolice.com/citizens-academy.

Sullivan Legislation On Financial Aid Eligibility Advances

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Sullivan Legislation On Financial Aid Eligibility Advances

The Indiana House of Representatives voted unanimously today in support of State Rep. Holli Sullivan’s (R-Evansville) bill to help students effected by the recent closings of post-secondary institutions such as ITT Tech and Medtech College.

Sullivan said her proposal would restore financial aid eligibility for the former students of colleges that abruptly closed last year by allowing the state to address each individual student’s financial hardship on a case-by-case basis.

“By helping restore financial aid eligibility for those students we encourage them to complete their studies at another institution,” Sullivan said. “These students would then enter the workforce with less student loan debt and we could increase graduation rates.”

With the support of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, House Bill 1281 would provide the state more flexibility when handling the individual cases of Hoosier students impacted and move the state to a more streamlined process similar to that on the federal level.

Sullivan said the legislation would also offer more incentives and opportunities for low-income students to participate in state grant and scholarship programs.

The bill now moves to the Senate for further consideration. For more information on Sullivan’s bill, visit iga.in.gov.

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