It's been nearly six months since HIP 2.0 was approved, and the state has enrolled nearly 300,000 Hoosiers in the health insurance program.
More than a dozen health care advocacy groups and insurers sang the praises of the program at a public forum Thursday.
As of July 1, a little more than 289,000 Hoosiers have signed up for health care coverage through HIP 2.0.
The majority — 186,000 — of them never had health insurance before, and 70 percent of enrollees are using HIP Plus, which requires contributions to a health savings account.
Indiana Minority Health Coalition Vice President Carl Ellison says he's been impressed with HIP 2.0's roll-out — he didn't think the state could get the program up and running so soon after it received federal approval.
"A lot of us didn't think that you could take a complex program, educate people on it and get them to do the things they need to do, and do it in a smooth, transparent, well-done way…but that, in fact, has happened," Ellison says.
The public forum wasn't entirely about kudos, though.
Ellison notes the state needs to ensure there are enough Spanish-speaking navigators who can guide people through the process of securing insurance.
And Covering Kids and Families policy director Caitlin Priest says future enrollees will likely need more in-person assistance.
"Which we fear may be harder to access in areas of the state not covered by our coalitions or with a more robust navigator bench," Priest says.
The state expects to add at least another 60,000 Hoosiers to the program by year's end.