Broader Medicaid issues derailed an FSSA agency bill to Democratic dismay while Republicans point to budgeting issues. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
An agency bill that passed unanimously out of committee died Thursday in an unusual move following the addition of several bipartisan amendments seeking transparency and accountability on a $1 billion Medicaid funding shortfall.
Separately, Senate Republicans killed their own priority bill to sharply curtail prior authorization and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said the Medicaid blunder contributed to its failure.
“That is part and parcel of this conversation … trying to be really careful with what we’re doing fiscally,” Bray, R-Martinsville, said.
Senate Bill 3 would have eliminated the majority of prior authorization requests, a process some say can delay life-saving medical treatments, according to author Sen. Tyler Johnson , an emergency care physician.
Lt. Gov, lawmakers call on FSSA to pause Medicaid cuts for parents of disabled children