Indiana lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 1. The legislation adds restrictions for people who use Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Medicaid is a government-based health insurance that covers low-income families and children, including 1.8 million Hoosiers. SNAP helps the same groups buy groceries with monthly payments.
Republican legislators say they are targeting “waste, fraud and abuse” and reeling in Indiana’s spending on these programs. Many of their proposals mirror President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” or go beyond it. The federal legislation makes steep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, too.
Advocates, meanwhile, say Indiana’s new changes — work requirements, immigration verification and limiting eligibility — will kick people off of assistance or deter them from applying even if they’re eligible.
Here’s what you need to know about the changes and how to prepare.
Use these buttons to jump to each section.
Indiana Medicaid
More eligibility checks
Indiana is going to require more redeterminations for Medicaid.
Now, people on the Healthy Indiana Plan — a Medicaid program covering Hoosiers ages 19 to 64 — will have their eligibility checked every six months.
“It’s not that we don’t trust these people, it’s that we have to verify it,” the bill’s author, Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, said during a Feb. 4 Ways and Means committee hearing. Under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” states have to pay increased federal penalties for errors.
Health advocates, though, said this provision could cause eligible people to lose coverage — especially if their income fluctuates. That’s common for Medicaid members who work in service industries.
“People are going to be more likely to lose health care due to an administrative error,” said Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, the policy director for Hoosier Action, a group that opposed the bill. “More frequent eligibility checks mean more mistakes, and people will have to appeal.”
If people don’t appeal quickly, the process can leave them waiting without health care.
Work requirements
The law also requires people on HIP to report working or volunteering for at least 80 hours per month.
A study from KFF Health News shows about 70% of adults in Indiana on Medicaid are already working. But now, some will have to complete extra paperwork to prove it.
“It’s a time tax,” Hutchings-Goetz said. “They’re going to have to spend more and more of their lives preparing documentation.”
And, if you aren’t already on HIP, you have to prove you met the work requirements for three months prior to applying.
There are some exemptions to the work requirement, including for pregnant people and those living with serious health conditions. But Indiana’s law does not provide other common exemptions for people facing natural disasters or medical emergencies.
“Let’s say you end up in the hospital and don’t get your paperwork in,” Hutchings-Goetz said. “You are going to be kicked off the Healthy Indiana Plan and be ineligible until you meet the three-month retroactive work requirements.”
Who will be affected and when?
The six-month eligibility checks and work requirements will start in January 2027.
Hutchings-Goetz estimates that nearly 400,000 Hoosiers on Medicaid will become uninsured due to the collective changes in Senate Bill 1 and the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
When people become uninsured, research shows they’re more likely to get sicker, crowd emergency departments and take on medical debt.
Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration runs the state’s Medicaid programs and must implement the new laws. A spokesperson said the agency does not have an estimate for how many people will lose health coverage due to Senate Bill 1.
“As this is a new regulation, we doubt anyone could provide an accurate estimate,” FSSA spokesperson Marcus Barlow said in a March 10 email to Mirror Indy.
Hutchings-Goetz said the state has made projections about changes to Medicaid enrollment in the past and should have provided this information before lawmakers voted on the bill.
“The state’s refusal to even attempt an estimate is extremely frustrating,” she said. “The public needs to know.”
What can I do?
Find your important documents ahead of time and organize paperwork in one place. These can include bank statements, pay stubs, household demographic and income information and an ID or passport.
Hutchings-Goetz recommends creating an account with FSSA’s portal to receive immediate updates about eligibility checks and work requirements. Check your mail regularly and make sure your address is updated, too.
If you need help applying or re-applying, find a free health care navigator to walk you through the process.
If you are kicked off Medicaid, you can appeal. You do not need an attorney to appeal, but they can be helpful. If you need free representation, reach out to Indiana Legal Services.
Hutchings-Goetz also recommends contacting your state and federal representatives to speed up the process.
“Complain to them,” she said. “They have staff who support constituents navigating these services and they should know if people are experiencing problems.”
Indiana SNAP
Assets limits are changing
Lawmakers have lowered the amount of money a family can save in a bank account or cash before losing SNAP benefits. Previously, people could not save more than $5,000 and qualify.
The new asset limit is $3,000. There is an exception for households with members who are seniors or someone with a disability, which raises the asset limit to $4,500.
“We want people to get ahead and ultimately not need the program,” said Emily Weikert Bryant, the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, a state association representing 11 food banks. “It’s counterintuitive to tell low-income families to save money, but don’t go over a certain amount or you’ll lose food.”
What counts in the eligibility equation
The amount of money someone gets from SNAP is calculated based on their household size and income. Senate Bill 1 changes what’s counted in the equation.
Previously, if you lived with someone who is ineligible for SNAP, their full income was not counted toward the household’s calculation. Now it will be counted — potentially kicking families off SNAP or decreasing their benefits.
People can be ineligible for SNAP for several reasons. Sometimes, it’s a program violation. Other immigration statuses make someone ineligible, including people living in the U.S. without legal permission; those with work or student visas; and permanent legal residents who haven’t lived in the country for at least five years. Most refugees and asylum seekers will become ineligible for SNAP in October 2026 due to the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“They’re changing the math to punish eligible people who live with someone ineligible,” Weikert Bryant said. “The implication is that someone ineligible is undocumented, but it actually hits a much larger group than that.”
Who will be affected and when?
The SNAP asset limit and changes to counting household eligibility begin in July 2026.
The lower asset limit will kick about 3,000 households off of SNAP, according to a fiscal analysis from Senate Bill 1, and save the state about $635,000 over the next two years.
An FSSA spokesperson said the state is still determining how many people will be affected by the changes to the household eligibility calculation.
What can I do?
Keep an eye out for communications about these changes and check your mail. If you are over the new asset limit, an FSSA spokesperson said the agency will provide more information to your household before July 1, 2026.
“If there’s a way to re-calculate your assets or what you reported when you applied is no longer accurate, you’ll be able to correct that,” Weikert Bryant said.
If you lose SNAP or get lower benefits, you can get help from food banks and pantries. You can see a list of these locations and their hours on the Community Compass app.
Immigration status
Indiana lawmakers added new immigration verification requirements for applying to SNAP and Medicaid.
People living in the U.S. without legal permission are already barred from receiving these benefits. Under the Trump administration, eligibility will be further restricted for refugees and asylum seekers in October.
Senate Bill 1 goes further by requiring applicants to disclose the immigration status of anyone living in their household.
If someone’s citizenship or status cannot be verified, the state will forward their information to federal authorities. For Medicaid, the information will be sent to the Department of Homeland Security; for SNAP, it will be shared with the Department of Agriculture.
Advocates said this will create a situation where American citizens must choose between getting health care or food and putting their loved ones at risk for deportation. In Indianapolis, 1 in 5 children have an immigrant parent.
“People are going to stop applying even if they’re absolutely eligible,” said Weikert Bryant. “It puts their families at risk.”
FSSA did not answer questions about the state’s process for collaborating with federal officials or how the information will be used. “This is still under review,” said Barlow, the agency’s spokesperson.
But the bill’s author was clear about the intention: “If you’re an illegal alien in Indiana, we’re going to report you to DHS, and I hope you are deported as fast as humanly possible,” Sen. Garten told reporters after an SB1 committee hearing in January.
Who will be affected and when?
These provisions take effect in July 2026.
FSSA said it does not know how many households will be affected by the extra requirements for immigration verification — or if fewer people will apply.
“Our role is to ensure that all who are legally eligible are encouraged to provide accurate information,” Barlow, the FSSA spokesperson, said in an email to Mirror Indy.
Indiana verifies information submitted in Medicaid and SNAP applications through data matching, documentation and audits.
What can I do?
Monitor the situation. Advocates said Indiana’s new requirement to verify the immigration status of an applicant’s entire household may be illegal, and could be challenged in court.
“It’s uncertain if it’s enforceable,” said Adam Mueller, the executive director of the Indiana Justice Project, a nonprofit legal group.
Mueller said concerned families should talk to an immigration attorney about their Medicaid or SNAP applications.
“If people are facing life threatening illnesses, I want them to seek help for those conditions,” he said. “But I hesitate to tell people what they should or should not do.”
Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group, has a tip sheet for families navigating questions about privacy and benefits. They note that if DHS already knows your address, applying for programs does not increase your risk of immigration enforcement. And if you already have benefits, dropping out generally does not provide more protection.
“There is no risk in continuing programs if you are already getting services and you have not moved,” the resource says. “(It) won’t erase the data you have already provided, and keeping Medicaid or SNAP will help your family.”
There are also resources for health care and food assistance that serve people regardless of insurance or immigration status. Look to Mirror Indy’s guides for free clinics and food pantries. You can also find help at a Federally Qualified Health Center.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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