Hello Members,

My name is Matt Watkins, and I recently began my policy internship with Prosperity Indiana. I am currently a Junior at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) studying Civic Leadership and Policy Studies within the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). I pursued an internship with Prosperity Indiana because I share the organizations fundamental belief in the importance of community and I want to contribute to the advancement of policies that promote economic development and upward social mobility. After graduation, I plan to pursue further education and a subsequent career that focuses on public service work that promotes strong communities, as communities are the foundation of our society at large.  I am thrilled to work with you and on your behalf alongside Prosperity Indiana staff.

A week into my internship, I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting for the Indiana Coalition for Human Services (ICHS).  Prosperity Indiana is one of 28 ICHS member organizations utilizing the power of their collective impact to empower Hoosiers striving to reach their full potential.  I wanted to share a few key updates from that meeting that are particularly important to Prosperity Indiana’s members.

Two speakers were featured at the event.  Tamara Fucile, the Director for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, focused on federal budget updates and MaryBeth Musumeci, the Associate Director at the Program on Medicaid, and the Uninsured for the Kaiser Family Foundation, gave a federal Medicaid update.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Key Points of Discussion

• If the debt ceiling is not raised by September 29^th, there is a potential for default. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, however, is calling for a “clean increase” – which means that there are not any additional provisions such as cuts to entitlement programs attached to the raise.  Ms. Fucile expressed that this move could help mitigate the potential for government default
• It is expected that Congress will attempt to use the budget resolution process as a mechanism to pass tax reform, just as members of Congress attempted to do with the Affordable Care Act
• Non-Defense discretionary spending is falling to relative historic lows

Kaiser Family Foundation: Key Points of Discussion

• Medicaid accounts for 57% of federal revenue for states, and reductions would have large budget implications
• The uninsured rate has decreased everywhere, but especially in Medicaid expansion states
• “All eyes are on Indiana” regarding state Medicaid waivers
• Between 2005 and 2015, national opioid death rate increased from 5.1 to 10.4 per 100,000 people

In addition to the presentations, ICHS leaders outlined coalition successes from the past year and previewed the work that lies ahead for 2018. Over the course of the past year, ICHS advanced legislation addressing suicide prevention and increased the number of social workers in Indiana by reforming social work licensing requirements. Additionally, ICHS members, including Prosperity Indiana, were able to prevent a bill that expanded payday lending in Indiana. Legislative priorities for the upcoming legislative session include firearms regulation, defense for parents with children within the Department of Child Services system, nonprofit property tax exemption, and food deserts.

The ICHS annual meeting was a great way for me to become more familiar with the work that Prosperity Indiana and our partners carry out. I was able to see how ICHS leveraged the power of their members to advance policy goals and legislation to improve the lives of Hoosiers throughout the state. I am looking forward to assisting Prosperity Indiana members and our policy team to do just that over the next three months. Please feel free to reach out to me at mwatkins@prosperityindiana.org.