April 17, 2025
Gov. Braun’s “Make Indiana Healthy Again” Initiative
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, Gov. Mike Braun hosted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Medicare and Medicaid Administrator, for a ground-breaking initiative to “Make Indiana Healthy Again.” As part of this initiative, the Governor signed nine executive orders designed to address root causes affecting the health of Hoosiers. The nine executive orders are:
- Overhauls work requirements for SNAP, so able-bodied persons can fill one of the 100,000+ open positions in the state with no prior experience or college degree
- Cut down on fraud and abuse of the SNAP program
- Change federal rules so states can operate high-quality SNAP programs that will help enrollees get to a point of self-sufficiency
- Removes candy and soda from SNAP benefits
- Increase food transparency and address possible negative effects of food dyes
- Study of diet-related chronic illness, which can help address the root cause of disease
- Increase access to direct-to-consumer food from local Indiana farms
- Establishes the Governor’s Fitness Test and School Fitness Month
- Cut down on eligibility errors in the Medicaid program
CHD Indiana is excited to see the potential impact of executive orders #4, #5, and #7 on Hoosier children!
You can watch the full press conference on YouTube.