Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Indiana will check every three months whether adults on the Healthy Indiana Plan, known as HIP, are putting in 80 hours a month on work or approved activities. The rule covers members ages 19 to 64. Anyone whose hours or exemption cannot be confirmed gets a notice asking for proof, and coverage stops if the proof never comes.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which runs HIP, applies the rule to adults who are not pregnant and are not enrolled in or eligible for Medicare. The state is acting under the 2025 federal law that requires every state to set up a Medicaid work test by the start of 2027. Indiana’s version arrives with a quarterly check built in.
That check is the part most members will feel first. HIP renews every six months, so the state is looking at hours twice between renewals instead of once at the end. A member who has a job, a class schedule or a volunteer spot can still lose coverage if the state cannot match the hours to a record.
The practical question for a HIP member is whether hours need to be logged, and where. The agency’s HIP work requirements page for members lists the activities that count and the groups that are exempt. Members can also report changes through the Benefits Portal at FSSABenefits.IN.gov or by phone at 1-800-403-0864.
Retirement deadlines, in your inbox: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. Join the Retirement Money Brief and we’ll send you our Medicaid Renewal Checklist as a welcome gift.
Get the Brief + the Medicaid checklist →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
How the three-month check works
The state agency says it “checks every three months” and will send a notice asking for proof when it cannot confirm a member’s hours or exemption. Members are told to report changes in work, school, health or family within 10 days. The mailing address for paper proof is the FSSA Document Center, PO Box 1810, Marion, IN 46952.
Federal rules set a lower bar than Indiana’s schedule. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requires states to verify compliance at application and at renewal, and lets a state check more often between renewals. According to CMS guidance on the interim final rule, states must try to confirm hours first from data they already hold. Members are asked for documents only when that data falls short.
Which activities fill the 80 hours
The state lists five ways to meet the test: employment, school at least half-time, an apprenticeship, a work program, or community volunteering. Its FAQ says any mix counts, so 40 hours of work and 40 hours of classes meet the monthly total.
Earning enough also works. Indiana puts the figure at $580 a month, which is the $7.25 federal minimum wage times 80 hours. The interim final rule published in the Federal Register requires every state to accept both hours and income, and lets seasonal workers use a six-month average.
Who is exempt from logging hours
A member is excused for a month if, on at least one day of that month, he or she falls into an exempt group. Indiana names young adults under 26 who were in foster care, members of federally recognized tribes, and parents or caregivers of a child 13 or younger. It also names caregivers of a person with a disability, veterans with a 100% disability rating, and people who are pregnant or within 12 months after pregnancy.
The list continues with people in jail or released within 90 days, people following SNAP or TANF work rules, people in drug or alcohol treatment, and the medically frail. The agency says the medical frailty criteria are still being finalized with CMS, and that other exemptions may apply.
What happens when proof does not arrive
Under the federal rule, a state that cannot verify compliance must send a notice of noncompliance and give 30 calendar days to respond. Members who still cannot show hours or an exemption are then disenrolled and may reapply at any time. Indiana’s page is blunter: coverage stops, the member must reapply, and Marketplace financial help is not available during that time.
Indiana has told members the dates directly. Some began receiving an initial notice on July 1, 2026, and the state sent a text message from 43816 on July 31 saying the requirements start Jan. 1, 2027. Town halls ran Oct. 20 in Richmond and Oct. 26 in Kokomo, with more to be announced. A pre-screening tool is posted at hipworkscreen.in.gov/hwr.
The state says the new rules apply to applicants and to redeterminations started on or after Jan. 1, 2027. A member whose six-month renewal falls soon after that date should expect the first review early in the new year. The agency’s main site, in.gov/fssa, carries current notices.
Is a HIP renewal landing right after Jan. 1?
Members with a renewal or an hours notice due in early 2027 are the first in line for the quarterly check.
A proof-of-hours notice that sits unopened is how a working HIP member ends up disenrolled and starting over with a new application. Under the quarterly check, a missed envelope or a missed 10-day report can cost coverage even when the hours were real.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer covers the new Medicaid work requirement and who is exempt, and it comes with a renewal and reporting calendar so no date slips. It also explains the 90-day window after coverage is dropped, and it includes a state pack for Indiana among its 51.
Get the Indiana pack with the HIP work-rule and exemption guide for the Jan. 1 start →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
