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HB1277 • 2026

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning human services.

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning human services.

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Representative Brad Barrett
Last action
2026-03-12
Official status
Enrolled House Bill (H)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The summary does not provide specific details on how new reimbursement methodologies will be developed, leaving some uncertainty.

Changes to Medicaid Services and Reimbursements

This law modifies how Medicaid home and community-based services are provided, including new requirements for documentation review by recipients and their case managers, time frames for reviewing service unit requests, and reimbursement methods.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires providers of Medicaid home and community-based services to give certain documents to recipients and requires the recipient to check these documents for errors or inconsistencies with assistance from a case manager.
  • Establishes a timeframe within which the bureau of disabilities services must review and approve or deny requests for an increase in service units provided to individuals with disabilities.
  • Requires the office of family and social services to apply to the federal government for new Medicaid waivers and amendments to provide assisted living services and set cost limits.
  • Changes eligibility criteria so that an individual is no longer eligible for certain Medicaid services if they receive nursing facility services for 100 consecutive days, starting July 1, 2027.
  • Requires at least six months of public notice before reducing reimbursement rates for health facility services.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Medicaid recipients who use home and community-based services
  • Providers of Medicaid services
  • Individuals with disabilities requesting increased service units
  • The office of family and social services

Terms To Know

Medicaid waiver
A special permission from the federal government that allows states to provide certain health care services in a different way than usual.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify all the details about how new reimbursement methods will be developed.
  • It is unclear how long it will take for the office to apply and receive approval from the federal government for new Medicaid waivers.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB1277.02.COMH.AMH02

Committee House Bill (H) • Representative Jeffrey Thompson

Filed

Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to modify rules related to Medicaid.

  • Modifies specific sections of the Indiana Code concerning human services, particularly those related to Medicaid.
  • The official text does not provide detailed information about what specific changes are being made to the Indiana Code regarding Medicaid.
HB1277.03.COMH.AMS06

Committee House Bill (S) • Senator Ryan Mishler

Filed

Plain English: This amendment changes the start date when certain parts of HB1277 will take effect.

  • Changes the effective date for specific sections of HB1277.
  • The exact sections affected and their new effective dates are not specified in this amendment text, making it unclear which parts of the bill are being modified and when they will become active.
HB1277.03.COMH.AMS05

Committee House Bill (S) • Senator Fady Qaddoura

Filed

Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to require Medicaid recipients to participate in work or job training programs.

  • Adds a requirement for Medicaid recipients to engage in work, education, or job training activities.
  • The exact details of what constitutes acceptable work, education, or job training are not specified in the amendment text.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS001

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Fady Qaddoura

X

Plain English: This amendment proposes to change the Indiana Code related to human services, but the specific details of what exactly is being changed are not provided in the given text.

  • The exact nature and content of changes to the Indiana Code concerning human services are not specified in this amendment text.
  • The official amendment text does not provide enough information to describe the concrete change it would make.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS002

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator J.D. Ford

X

Plain English: This amendment proposes to change the Indiana Code regarding human services, but the specific details of the changes are not provided in the given text.

  • The exact nature and content of the proposed changes to the Indiana Code concerning human services is unclear from the provided information.
  • The official amendment text does not provide enough detail to explain the concrete changes it would make.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS003

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Michael Crider

Passed

Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to add new requirements for human services programs.

  • Adds new rules for how human services programs must operate.
  • The official text does not provide specific details about what these new rules are, making it hard to explain exactly what changes will be made.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS004

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Liz Brown

Failed

Plain English: This amendment would add a new section to the Indiana Code that requires certain human services agencies to report on how they use federal funds.

  • Adds a requirement for specific human services agencies to submit reports detailing their use of federal funding.
  • The exact details and scope of reporting requirements are not specified in the provided amendment text, making it unclear what information must be included in these reports.
  • It is unknown which specific agencies would be required to comply with this new requirement.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS005

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Liz Brown

Failed

Plain English: This amendment, proposed by Senator Liz Brown, was a motion that did not pass and does not specify any concrete changes to the bill.

  • The official text of the amendment does not provide details about what specific changes it would make to the bill.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS006

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Michael Crider

Failed

Plain English: This amendment would add a new section to the Indiana Code that requires certain human services agencies to report on how they use federal funds.

  • Adds a requirement for specific human services agencies in Indiana to submit reports detailing their use of federal funding.
  • The amendment text does not specify which agencies are required to submit these reports, making it unclear exactly which organizations will be affected.
  • It is also unclear what the consequences or oversight mechanisms would be for failing to comply with this reporting requirement.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS007

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Liz Brown

Failed

Plain English: This amendment would add a new section to the Indiana Code that requires certain human services agencies to report on how they use federal funds.

  • Adds a requirement for specific human services agencies to submit reports detailing their use of federal funding.
  • The exact details and scope of reporting requirements are not specified in the provided amendment text, making it unclear what information must be included in these reports.
  • It is unknown which specific agencies would be required to comply with this new requirement.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS008

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Liz Brown

Passed

Plain English: This amendment changes the Indiana Code to require certain individuals or entities receiving state funds for human services to report any criminal activity involving those funds.

  • Requires recipients of state funds for human services to report any criminal activity related to these funds.
  • The official amendment text does not provide specific details on how the reporting should be done or what kind of support will be given to those who need to comply with this new requirement.
HB1277.04.COMS.AMS009

Filed House Bill (S) • Senator Ron Alting

Failed

Plain English: This amendment would add a new section to the Indiana Code that requires certain individuals or entities to report suspected cases of human trafficking.

  • Adds a requirement for specific people and organizations to report suspected instances of human trafficking.
  • The exact details about who is required to report and how they should do so are not provided in the amendment text, making it unclear without further information.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-12 House

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2026-03-12 House

    Public Law 160

  3. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Signed by the President Pro Tempore

  4. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  5. 2026-02-27 House

    CCR # 1 filed in the House

  6. 2026-02-27 Senate

    CCR # 1 filed in the Senate

  7. 2026-02-27 House

    Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the House; Roll Call 416: yeas 96, nays 0

  8. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Rules Suspended. Conference Committee Report 1: adopted by the Senate; Roll Call 325: yeas 46, nays 4

  9. 2026-02-27 House

    Signed by the Speaker

  10. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Returned to the House with amendments

  11. 2026-02-25 House

    House dissented from Senate amendments

  12. 2026-02-25 House

    Motion to dissent filed

  13. 2026-02-25 House

    House advisors appointed: Goss-Reaves, Slager, Lopez, Bauer, Porter

  14. 2026-02-25 House

    House conferees appointed: Barrett, Shackleford

  15. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Senate advisors appointed: Busch, Yoder, Brown L

  16. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Senate conferees appointed: Crider, Jackson L

  17. 2026-02-24 Senate

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 250: yeas 47, nays 0

  18. 2026-02-23 Senate

    Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed

  19. 2026-02-23 Senate

    Amendment #1 (Qaddoura) failed; voice vote

  20. 2026-02-23 Senate

    Amendment #2 (Ford J.D.) failed; voice vote

  21. 2026-02-23 Senate

    Amendment #3 (Crider) prevailed; voice vote

  22. 2026-02-23 Senate

    Amendment #8 (Brown L) prevailed; voice vote

  23. 2026-02-19 Senate

    Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  24. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Senator Charbonneau added as cosponsor

  25. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Senator Randolph added as cosponsor

  26. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Senator Becker added as cosponsor

  27. 2026-02-05 Senate

    First reading: referred to Committee on Health and Provider Services

  28. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Pursuant to Senate Rule 68(b); reassigned to Committee on Appropriations

  29. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Senator Brown L added as second sponsor

  30. 2026-02-05 Senate

    Senator Busch added as cosponsor

  31. 2026-02-03 House

    Referred to the Senate

  32. 2026-02-02 House

    Third reading: passed; Roll Call 180: yeas 93, nays 0

  33. 2026-02-02 House

    Senate sponsor: Senator Crider

  34. 2026-01-29 House

    Second reading: ordered engrossed

  35. 2026-01-27 House

    Committee report: amend do pass, adopted

  36. 2026-01-14 House

    Representative Slager added as coauthor

  37. 2026-01-13 House

    Committee report: do pass, adopted

  38. 2026-01-13 House

    Representative Goss-Reaves added as coauthor

  39. 2026-01-13 House

    Representative Porter added as coauthor

  40. 2026-01-13 House

    Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means pursuant to House Rule 126.3

  41. 2026-01-06 House

    Authored by Representative Barrett

  42. 2026-01-06 House

    First reading: referred to Committee on Public Health

Official Summary Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning human services.
Health and human services matters.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning human services.

Health and human services matters.

Amends the duties of the office of the secretary of family and social services (office) concerning Medicaid home and community based services waivers (waiver). Requires: (1) a provider of waiver services to provide certain documentation to a waiver recipient; (2) a waiver recipient to review the documentation and report errors or inconsistencies; and (3) the recipient's case manager to provide assistance to the recipient in reviewing the documentation and reporting any errors or inconsistencies. Requires certain Medicaid recipients to choose the recipient's provider of integrated health care coordination. Provides that integrated health care coordination provided by a provider of assisted living services is not duplicative of certain other services. Establishes a time frame in which the bureau of disabilities services must review and approve or deny requests for an increase in service units provided to certain individuals with a disability. Requires the office to apply to the federal government for: (1) a new Medicaid waiver to provide assisted living services; and (2) an amendment to a specific Medicaid home and community based services waiver to establish an individual cost limit of not more than the institutional cost of nursing facility services. Specifies that provisions concerning reimbursement for assisted living services for individuals who are aged and disabled and receiving services under a Medicaid waiver apply to the new assisted living Medicaid waiver. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2027, an individual is no longer a member of the covered population upon receiving nursing facility services for 100 consecutive days. Provides that on the one hundredth day, the individual is not a member of the covered population and shall receive Medicaid services under a fee for service program. Provides that a provision prohibiting the office from reducing reimbursement for home health services expires June 30, 2027. Requires the office to collaborate with certain entities to develop a new reimbursement methodology for home health services. Specifies that public notice of at least six months (rather than one year) must be provided before a health facility service reimbursement that results in a reduction in reimbursement may be changed. Amends the definition of "bulk drug substance" for provisions concerning drug compounding. Provides that a claim by the estate recovery unit of the office of Medicaid policy and planning (estate recovery unit) is forever barred unless the estate recovery unit files a claim in the court in which the decedent's estate is being administered not later than nine months after the date of death of the decedent.