Indiana’s 20% Drop in Child Medicaid Enrollment Is the Largest in the Country
Indiana lost 174,000 children from its Medicaid rolls between January and April 2025, a 20% decline that ranks first in the nation by rate, according to a Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy report released June 30, 2026. In absolute numbers, Indiana ranked third nationally, behind California (382,776 fewer children, or 8%) and Texas (190,956 fewer, or 6%).
174,000 Hoosier children dropped from Medicaid between January and April 2025, a 20% decline and the highest rate in the nation. (Georgetown University)
The Georgetown report does not specify how many of those children are now uninsured, but it notes that drops in child Medicaid enrollment historically correspond with increases in children going without any health coverage.
Fear of Immigration Enforcement Is Keeping Eligible Families Away
Susan Jo Thomas, executive director of Covering Kids and Families, says mixed-status immigrant families are driving much of the decline. Even when children are U.S. citizens and legally eligible, parents are refusing to enroll because Medicaid applications require listing everyone in the household.
“It has the effect of them saying, ‘It’s not worth the risk to the family unit to draw scrutiny or draw attention to our family.’”
Susan Jo Thomas, Executive Director, Covering Kids and Families, June 30, 2026
Thomas said families are uncertain whether information on those applications could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security or other agencies that check immigration status. That fear, she said, creates a “chilling effect” that pushes eligible children off the rolls entirely.
Eligibility Mailers and Work Requirement Confusion Are Also a Factor
Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration rolled out must-return mailers for eligibility redeterminations last year. For many Hoosiers, the process is straightforward. For those who need to document a disability or medically frail condition, it is not.
Thomas also pointed to confusion about incoming work requirements for able-bodied adults. Those requirements do not apply to children, but advocates say misinformation is causing some families to disenroll children preemptively.
The FSSA defended its record, noting that Indiana’s combined Medicaid and CHIP enrollment for children sits only 2.6% below pre-pandemic levels when measured from 2023 forward. That window excludes the pandemic-era freeze on disenrollments and presents a different starting baseline than the Georgetown report uses.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your Indiana state representative at (317) 232-9600 and ask them to support simplified redetermination processes and clarify that household immigration data is not shared with enforcement agencies. The next legislative session opens in January 2027.
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Contact Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration directly at 1-800-403-0864. Ask whether your child qualifies for Medicaid or CHIP regardless of other household members’ immigration status. FSSA is required to enroll eligible children.
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Share the Georgetown report with your school board or pediatrician’s office. Schools and healthcare providers can connect families to enrollment navigators. The Georgetown Center for Children and Families publishes state-by-state data at ccf.georgetown.edu.
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Contact your Indiana state senator at (317) 232-9400 and ask them to pass a data firewall law prohibiting FSSA from sharing Medicaid application data with immigration enforcement agencies.
Sources
Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana Leads Nation in Decline of Children Insured Through Medicaid Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy: Georgetown Center for Children and Families State Medicaid Data KFF: Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker by State Indiana Family and Social Services Administration: Medicaid Redetermination Information