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Healthcare
4.00
Economics
4.00
Candidate Name
Michelle Milne
District
State House District 49
Values
Grade
Values
Party
Democrat
Experience
Challenger
Grade
Democracy
4.00
Accessibility
4
Governance
4
Cost
Choice
4
4
Freedom
Voting
4
4
Community
4.00
A+
Overall Grade
Education
4.00
Affordability
Equity
Opportunity
4
4
4
Environment
Public Safety
Inclusion
4
4
4
Stability
Funding
Belonging
4
4
4
Notable Information
Candidate Name
Candidate for:
State House District 49
Democrat
Challenger
Notable Information
MADVoters Survey Responses
Healthcare: The Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cut $31 billion from Indiana’s Medicaid funding, including almost $13 billion in hospital funding, over the next decade. What will you do if elected to ensure healthcare affordability and access given these changes? (Source: Indiana Hospital Association)
I will promote legislation to:
Simplify the application process for HIP and other Medicaid programs – especially for requalification, since struggling people will now have to apply twice a year. Allocate funds for additional staffing to alleviate the increased workload as well.
Provide more low-cost insurance and healthcare options for small business employers, gig workers, entrepreneurs, and others who don’t have access to insurance through employment. Allow anyone to buy into the Healthy Indiana Plan using a sliding scale based on income.
Fund preventative care; maternal, infant, and pediatric care; disability care; and chronic disease prevention and management for everyone.
Increase transparency in insurance/hospital communications and billing.
Prioritize patients’ needs and medical professionals’ expertise. Limit insurers’ power to subvert the patient-provider relationship through delays and denials.
Provide subsidies that help every county maintain hospital services for their size – especially maternal and infant care, residential nursing care, and emergency/life-saving services.
Provide block grants to hospitals and clinics that serve rural and/or low income patients. Require that the funding helps cover adequate staffing, and lowers costs for patients.
Increase reimbursement rates so more hospitals and providers can afford to accept HIP and other forms of Medicaid.
Incentivize healthcare workers to come to Indiana through pay, benefits, and respect for their expertise. Collaborate with Indiana medical and nursing schools to cultivate and create these conditions.
Economics: AI and data centers are having a huge impact on jobs and communities across the nation, particularly in Indiana. What is Congress’s role in addressing this developing technology? What action will you take to hear and represent the concerns of Hoosiers on this topic?
Economics: Dozens of AI data centers are planning to come to Indiana, drawn by the state’s “business-friendly” reputation. How should Indiana manage these large industrial site proposals and their potential impact on communities? (Source: Citizens Action Coalition)
We need to prioritize local businesses, small businesses, local entrepreneurs, family farms, and other businesses that contribute to the quality of life in our communities.
Large corporations moving into our state and using local resources should be held accountable for improving the lives of residents. Wealthy, out-of-state corporations should not be receiving tax write-offs at the expense of our local businesses and individual taxpayers.
For any data centers who want to locate to Indiana, transparency, accountability, and local control requirements should be written into their contracts, such as:
- Require well-publicized local hearings, wait periods, and full local approval before moving forward
- Implement Large Load Tariffs, exit fees, and collateral to protect ratepayers.
- Implement Clean Transition Tariffs to create environmental protections.
- Require corporations to cover all building expenses up front; and all demolition and land recultivation once the centers are obsolete.
- Full taxation requirements (no abatements or exemptions). Repeal current legislative incentives, like the 2019 sales tax exemption. Our communities are losing revenue while billion-dollar companies increase their profits.
- Construction needs must be hired locally, using local union labor. Commit to a large number of locally-hired, well-paying jobs for the duration of the center’s existence (not just during its construction phase).
- No NDAs allowed – full transparency must be required around water usage, health and safety, utilities consumption, etc. Implement reporting requirements to ensure additional transparency.
- Require safety regulations for workers, and full reporting of any injuries on site, with steep fines for non-compliance.
- Regulate water usage. Recycle and reuse cooling water. No dumping polluted water back into the ground. Create protection from noise pollution via natural vegetation barriers. Limit their size and proximity to any residents. Prohibit building on fertile agricultural land, and give first right of refusal to local farmers.
- Debilitating fines for breaking any of these agreements at any time.
Require public hearings and lengthy waiting periods to provide opportunities for all residents to give their opinions. Local communities should decide what is best for them, with the opportunity for input from all local stakeholders.
Education: Describe your stance on the Department of Education and its role in education administration, funding, and protections for students with disabilities.
Education: Since 2012, Indiana has spent over $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars on charter schools and the private school voucher program. If elected, would you support or oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to funding private schools and charter schools? Why or why not? (Source: ICPE)
We need to fully fund public education.
Private and charter schools lack accountability and accessibility. We need to invest in the infrastructure that can help ALL children succeed – public schools.
This year’s legislation to remove all income limits for voucher eligibility is short-sighted, constitutionally questionable, and fiscally irresponsible. We shouldn’t be stealing from the 90% of children and their hard-working teachers at public schools to give more money to millionaires and billionaires.
Most people can’t afford the additional tuition, fees, transportation, and other costs even with vouchers. Not everyone agrees with the specific theology available at their local private school. And private schools can turn away students for any reason or no reason, including disabilities.
Charter schools also have accessibility issues in terms of transportation, disabilities, and application processes. And as privately managed entities, they can spend taxpayer dollars however they want without transparency or oversight.
We need to invest in giving all students true school choice -- through options within the public school system rather than using tax dollars to subsidize niche schools that aren’t available to everyone.
We need to fully fund and support:
- Smaller class sizes and smaller local schools
- Increased teacher pay and manageable workloads
- Trust in teachers to know their students' needs; stop micromanaging from the state house
- Collaboration across school systems to share resources, knowledge, and skills
- Training and infrastructure to expand teaching for different learning styles and abilities
- Promoting experiential, project-based learning to prepare students for today’s world
-Training for more staff, teachers, and accommodations to support students who are neurodivergent, have disabilities, are multi-language learners, and have other specialized needs.
- Funding for public schools to maintain safe, learner-friendly, updated buildings and facilities
Indiana’s constitution requires the state to provide free, public, accessible education for all. It is a key cornerstone of democracy, and is the only way we can provide actual choice for all families.
Democracy: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge or threat facing our democracy right now? If elected, what will you do to help overcome this challenge or threat?
The biggest threats to democracy are attacks on voting rights and the outsized power of corporations and special interest money over the rights of individuals and communities. I am passionate about strengthening democracy by driving civic engagement and voter turnout, and improving voter education and accessibility.
*Civic Engagement*
Through my campaign, I am working to connect people in order to transform isolation and resignation into connection, resolve, and momentum. I will continue to do so as the state representative for District 49.
*Education*
The state should fund a free, non-partisan voter guide that is mailed to every voter. It should tell voters who is on their ballot, a statement from every candidate, and where to find more information about each of them. The state website should also be more clear and easy to navigate, and the online ballot preview should include more detailed information.
The state should publicize easy-to-find, clear instructions on how to register and vote, along with information about options like mail-in voting, disability assistance, and traveling boards. New voters should receive easy-to-read info packets telling them what they need to do as a first time Indiana voter.
*Accessibility*
- Require more voting hours outside of normal business hours, on evenings and weekends. Hardworking Hoosiers shouldn’t have to forgo income in exchange for the right to vote; nor should they have to give up their right to vote in order to keep their jobs.
- Make sure every eligible voter feels safe going to the polls.
- Reimburse counties for the cost of postage for mail-in ballots.
- Provide and fund free on-site childcare while parents vote.
- Invest in publicity to recruit more poll workers, and pay them better for their time. Democracy is worth the investment.
*People over Corporations*
I support allowing citizen-led ballot initiatives, referendums, and ranked-choice voting. Government of the people and by the people can only happen by giving voters more of a voice.
I would work to lower campaign funding limits so candidates don’t win based on connections to powerful corporations, lobbyists, and super-wealthy individuals. Instead, we should be assessed by our values, policy positions, and constituent advocacy.
Community: Describe your stance on ICE and its role in immigration enforcement and detention.
Community: What role or responsibility do local and state governments have with regards to immigration enforcement?
We need to protect and celebrate our neighbors. Immigrants contribute to our culture, economy, and quality of life. They are integral parts of our communities. While immigration policy is created at the federal level, we can protect rights at the state level.
The state should monitor, call out, and push back against federal overreach and prioritize the safety and well-being of all Indiana residents. Civil law (not criminal law) governs immigration. As a state, we can protect everyone’s right to due process and humane treatment.
We should require that federal agents and facilities follow state laws. We should also make sure that every agency is following their mandate and not extending beyond it. Local/municipal government should keep us safe and provide services for the community. We need to protect their ability to do so, and not divert police and local funding to actions outside their mandates – which leaves our communities less safe.
Local governments should attend to local needs in order to cultivate a safe community. When people are afraid to call fire fighters, police, or a utility about a possible gas leak because they are afraid of being harassed or abused, we endanger everyone in the community.
We should show up to inspect detention centers and hold them accountable for humane practices. Indiana should have legislation that requires a transparent process for any new detention facilities, with public input from affected residents along with state and local governments.
These facilities have a humanitarian impact, but also economic impact – affecting land use, property tax income, utilities usage, and employment needs of the surrounding areas. We can levy huge taxes when state land and resources are used for corporate, for-profit prisons and detention centers. We should stop feeding money into out-of-state, billion-dollar corporations that make money off of every person they hold in their facilities.
Finally, we can reward employers who treat their workers well – including migrant workers. We can support farmers and other businesses who rely on immigrant labor, so they have a stable workforce who feel valued, respected, and safe.