Indiana state news roundup

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HIP 2.0 is running smooth, former Speedway fire chief allegedly stole public funds and a Muncie school district has informed the state department of education they plan to end busing.

 

Health care industry: Healthy Indiana Plan working smoothly

 

Industry representatives say Indiana’s expanded health care program for low-income residents is functioning smoothly so far.

Federal officials in January approved expanding the existing Healthy Indiana Plan into a larger program that Governor Mike Pence has dubbed HIP 2.0. It uses federal Medicaid funds under President Barack Obama’s health care law to cover people with incomes under 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

The Evansville Courier and Press reports that state enrollment in HIP 2.0 has climbed to nearly 290,000 participants.

Industry officials said during a Thursday public hearing in Indianapolis that the program has functioned smoothly in the months since its implementation.

State Medicaid Director Joe Moser says the state is fielding inquiries from other states on how the program works.

 


 

State audit finds Speedway fire chief misused town funds

A state audit accuses a former central Indiana fire chief of misusing more than $60,000 in public funds to buy a television, a snow blower and other items.

The State Board of Accounts audit released Friday said former Speedway Fire Chief Mark Watson deposited department funds in a personal checking account that he used for personal expenses. Auditors also found $7,000 in charges on Watson’s town credit card for personal expenses.

Speedway officials said in a statement that Watson resigned last October after town officials confronted him about personal purchases with town funds and informed him they would ask a merit board to fire him.

The audit was forwarded to Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry.

Watson could not be reached for comment by phone Friday evening.

 


 

Muncie Community School board expected to seek busing cut

The Muncie Community School board is expected to vote Tuesday to notify the Indiana Department of Education that it intends to cancel busing in three years.

The state requires schools to notify the department and their local communities three years in advance of canceling busing. It doesn’t necessarily mean the Muncie schools will cut busing in July 2018.

The Star Press reports (http://tspne.ws/1Cv3Mrt ) the school board released a statement Friday saying it and the administration recognize the problems that cutting busing would cause, and they hope to avoid it.

The Muncie schools would become the fourth Indiana district to send such notification since the state made the option available in 2012.

 


 

 

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