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A Statewide Silver Alert has been declared.

The Muncie Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Shonda Howard, a 74 year old white female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 108 pounds, white hair with hazel eyes, last seen wearing a grey shirt and black pants.

Shonda is missing from Muncie, Indiana which is 63 miles northeast of Indianapolis and was last seen on Thursday, December 26, at 1:17 a.m. She is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.

If you have any information on Shonda Howard, contact the Muncie Police Department at 765-716-9852 or 911.

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA OEP) runs January 1 through March 31 of each year. During the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period:

You can switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan.
You can drop your Medicare Advantage Plan.
You can return to Original Medicare.
You can add a standalone Part D Plan, but only if you dropped your Medicare Advantage Plan and returned to Original Medicare.

To change your drug coverage during this period, you must disenroll from your Medicare Advantage Plan and join a different Medicare Advantage Plan with prescription drug coverage or Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan.

Changes made during the Medicare Advantage OEP will take effect the first of the month following the month you enroll. If you want to keep your Medicare Advantage Plan, you should not use the MA OEP to change drug coverage.

Keep in mind, if you go back to Original Medicare now, you may not be able to buy a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy without being underwritten. This means you could pay higher premiums and have a waiting period for pre-existing conditions or be denied coverage.

The Medicare Plan Finder can help you find, compare, and enroll in a new Medicare Advantage plan, www.medicare.gov/plan-compare.

SHIP has more than 75 sites throughout Indiana. Look for a SHIP site near you at www.in.gov/ship/find - an indiana - ship -location/. Our counselors can assist you in person, by phone, or virtually. SHIP offers presentations and educational events throughout Indiana. Check out our list of state-wide events at ww.in.gov/ship/ship -presentations -and - events/. You can also contact our Helpline at (800) 452-4800.

Follow SHIP on social media for informative Medicare related videos, updates, and announcements. Find us on Facebook ,Twitter , LinkedIn , and YouTube .

A new bill, SEA 215 was introduced and passed in Indiana in Spring of 2024. Beginning January 1, 2025,
there will be guaranteed issue into medigap plans for people under 65. What does this mean? This means
that after December 31, 2024, any Medicare Supplement Plan (Medigap) that is available to those with
Medicare will also have to provide that same plan, or an equivalent, available for those with Medicare due to
disability or ESRD.

Anyone on Medicare under the age of 65 prior to January 1, 2025 will have a six month window to sign up for
a Medigap Plan, guaranteed. This would be January 1 – June 30, 2025.

Anyone enrolling into Medicare under the age of 65 AFTER January 1, 2025 will be granted their own six
month guaranteed enrollment window starting from the first day of the month their Medicare begins.

Beginning January 1, 2025, the following rules will apply to health insurance providers:
• Issuers may not deny or condition issuance of Medicare supplement policy because of health status,
claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition of an individual.
• Issuers may not charge a premium rate for Plans A, B, or D that exceeds the premium rate an issuer
charges to those age 65 for same Medicare supplement policy.
• Issuers may not charge a premium rate for any other standardized letter Medicare supplement policy
that exceeds 200% of premium charged to those age 65 for the same Medicare supplement policy.
• Issuers may not issue policy that contains a waiting period or preexisting condition limitation or
exclusion.

If you have questions about the SEA 215 bill or anything else related to Medicare, contact SHIP for free,
impartial assistance.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a free and impartial health insurance counseling
program for people with Medicare. SHIP does not sell insurance. SHIP is provided by the Administration for
Community Living and the Indiana Department of Insurance. We are part of a federal network of State Health
Insurance Assistance Programs located in every state. All of our services are free.

Follow SHIP on social media for informative Medicare related videos, updates, and announcements. Find us
on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTu

Indiana Medicaid Director Cora Steinmetz will resign in early 2025 after navigating the Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning through a forecast variance that resulted in cost containment strategies, new robust monthly financial reporting, and a more thorough policy review process.

“Few individuals have made such a remarkable impact on an agency in such a short time," FSSA Secretary Dr. Dan Rusyniak said. "Her leadership came at a pivotal moment, and Indiana was incredibly fortunate to have her at the helm of Medicaid. She guided us through unprecedented challenges with vision and determination, leaving our agency stronger, more resilient, and ready for the future.”

Steinmetz has been Medicaid director since August 2023. Previously, she worked as Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s senior operations director for health-related state agencies, including the Family and Social Services Administration, Department of Child Services and Indiana Department of Health.

Indiana Medicaid faced an unprecedented $1 billion forecast variance in late 2023, and Steinmetz led the office in establishing a number of review and reporting practices to enhance oversight of the Medicaid budget, address the variance and ensure such a variance does not happen again, including:

Implementation of improved financial forecasting and trend analysis, including the use of more real-time data.
Monthly reporting processes to analyze trends and ensure transparency and stewardship of taxpayer resources.
Development of agency-wide processes to review programmatic changes to ensure an understanding of enrollment, utilization, and reimbursement impacts.

Additionally, under her leadership, Indiana Medicaid has:

Launched the Indiana PathWays for Aging program, a managed Long-Term Services and Supports (mLTSS) program and the state’s fourth managed Medicaid program. Indiana PathWays for Aging provides coverage for 120,000 Hoosiers, 80% of whom are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
Transitioned the former Aged and Disabled waiver into two new waivers, the Indiana PathWays for Aging waiver for individuals aged 60 and older to coordinate waiver services with health coverage under the managed care program, and the Health and Wellness waiver for individuals under age 60 to improve alignment with other waivers supporting individuals with disabilities.
Submitted a five-year extension of the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI) 1115 waiver to ensure continued access to a comprehensive continuum of behavioral health services for Indiana Medicaid members.

“Leading Indiana Medicaid during this time has been a rewarding and challenging experience," said Steinmetz. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to meaningful progress while serving alongside a passionate and purpose-driven team.”

Steinmetz, a licensed attorney, has also worked as a program director for government programs and revenue cycle compliance for IU Health and was an attorney for the Indiana Department of Revenue and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. She is also a board member for Music for All, a national organization focused on music education.

She is exploring options for future employment.

The U.S. population grew by nearly 1.0% between 2023 and 2024, according to the new Vintage 2024 population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

As the nation’s population surpasses 340 million, this is the fastest annual population growth the nation has seen since 2001 — a notable increase from the record low growth rate of 0.2% in 2021. The growth was primarily driven by rising net international migration.

Net international migration, which refers to any change of residence across U.S. borders (the 50 states and the District of Columbia), was the critical demographic component of change driving growth in the resident population. With a net increase of 2.8 million people, it accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million increase in population between 2023 and 2024. This reflects a continued trend of rising international migration, with a net increase of 1.7 million in 2022 and 2.3 million in 2023.

"Improved integration of federal data sources on immigration has enhanced our estimates methodology," said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for Estimates and Projections. "With this update, we can better understand how the recent increase in international migration is impacting the country's overall population growth." (More information on the Census Bureau’s updates to how it measures international migration are available in Census Bureau Improves Methodology to Better Capture Increase in Net International Migration).

Natural increase also contributed to the population growth, as births outnumbered deaths by nearly 519,000 between 2023 and 2024. This marks an increase from the historic low in 2021 when natural increase was just over 146,000, but it was still well below the highs in prior decades.

“An annual growth rate of 1.0% is higher than what we’ve seen over recent years but well within historical norms,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “What stands out is the diminishing role of natural increase over the last five years, as net international migration has become the primary driver of the nation’s growth.”

Meanwhile, the voting-age resident population (age 18 and over) grew to nearly 267 million, representing 78.5% of the population and the number of U.S. children (ages 0 to 17) declined by 0.2% from 73.3 million in 2023 to 73.1 million in 2024.

The South Remains Fastest-Growing Region

At nearly 132.7 million residents, the South is the most populous region. With a population gain of nearly 1.8 million — a change of 1.4% between 2023 and 2024 — the South added more people than all other regions combined, making it both the fastest-growing and largest-gaining region in the country.

The largest contributing component to this growth was international migration, which added 1.1 million people. Domestic migration netted another 411,004 residents. The South was the only region with positive net domestic migration, where the number of people entering the region exceeded those leaving. Natural increase also contributed 218,567 to the growing region.

Within the South, Texas (562,941) and Florida (467,347) had the largest numeric gains, and the District of Columbia grew the fastest (2.2%) from 2023 to 2024.

The population in the West grew by almost 688,000 (0.9%) to a total of 80,015,776 residents. This growth was consistent with the national trend and continued despite a net domestic migration loss of almost 170,000, offset by a gain of 667,794 from net international migration. There was a gain of 187,986 from natural increase. In the West, California (232,570) and Arizona (109,357) had the largest numeric gains between 2023 and 2024, while Utah (1.8%) and Nevada (1.7%) grew the fastest.

Just over 57.8 million people lived in the Northeast between 2023 and 2024. During that time, the number of residents increased by 0.76% — a gain of almost 435,000.

Growth in the Northeast largely stemmed from net international migration (567,420). The number of people moving from the Northeast to other parts of the country continued to slow as the region lost fewer residents via net domestic outmigration (192,109) in 2024 than in 2023 (278,245).

Within the Northeast, New York (129,881) had the largest numeric gains, and New Jersey (1.3%) had the fastest-growing population.

The population in the Midwest increased by over 410,000 (0.6%) to a total population of 69,596,584 in 2024.

The region had a net domestic migration loss of 49,214, far fewer than the net domestic outmigration of 89,787 in the previous year. The Midwest gained 406,737 people through net international migration and experienced a net gain of 52,741 from natural increase.

Within the region, Illinois (67,899) and Ohio (59,270) had the largest population gains, while North Dakota (1.0%) and Iowa (0.7%) were the fastest-growing states.

Population Increased in Most States

Between 2023 and 2024, the population increased in 47 states and the District of Columbia, with nine states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington) experiencing population gains of over 100,000 people. The District of Columbia was the fastest growing (2.2%) among state and state equivalents for the first time since 2011.

Texas, the second-most populous state, had the largest numeric increase in the country, adding nearly 563,000 people for a total population of 31,290,831 in 2024.

North Carolina’s population surpassed 11 million (11,046,024) and Florida’s population now exceeds 23 million (23,372,215), as both states experienced growth well above the national average at 1.5% and 2.0%, respectively.

Three states saw their populations decrease slightly between 2023 and 2024: Vermont (-215), Mississippi (-127) and West Virginia (-516), up from two states that lost population between 2022 and 2023.

The losses in Mississippi and Vermont resulted from negative net domestic migration and natural decrease (more deaths than births), and the loss in West Virginia was from natural decrease.

Migration Drives State Growth

Births outnumbered deaths (natural increase) in 33 states and the District of Columbia, with natural increase highest in Texas (158,753), California (110,466) and New York (43,701).

Seventeen states experienced more deaths than births, down from 19 states in 2023 and 25 states in 2022. Pennsylvania (-9,311), West Virginia (-7,844) and Florida (-7,321) were the states with the highest levels of natural decrease.

Texas (85,267), North Carolina (82,288) and South Carolina (68,043) saw the largest gains from domestic migration, while California (-239,575), New York ( -120,917) and Illinois (-56,235) experienced the largest net domestic migration losses between 2023 and 2024.

Net international migration was positive for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Florida (411,322), California (361,057) and Texas (319,569) saw the largest gains from international migration.

Refer to the bottom of the release for tables on the Top 10 Most Populous States: 2024, Top 10 States by Numeric Growth: 2023 to 2024, and Top 10 States or State Equivalent by Percent Growth: 2023 to 2024.

Population Decline in Puerto Rico Slows

Puerto Rico had a population of 3,203,295 in 2024 — a 0.02% decline over the prior year.

Though Puerto Rico’s population declined, it did so at a much slower pace than in recent years, having experienced drops of 1.3% and 0.5% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The U.S. territory did experience positive net migration (15,204), although this gain was offset by natural decrease, as there were far fewer births (18,219) than deaths (33,920).

Methodology

For the Vintage 2024 population estimates, administrative data were used to adjust the net international migration estimates. Details on this adjustment are available in the Random Samplings blog, Census Bureau Improves Methodology to Better Capture Increase in Net International Migration.

In March, the Census Bureau is scheduled to release estimates of the July 1, 2024, population and demographic components of population change for metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas and counties, and Puerto Rico municipio population estimates. The data will be embargoed. The full release schedule for the Population Estimates Program can be found on the Census Bureau’s website.

With each new release of annual estimates, the entire time series of estimates is revised for all years back to the date of the last census. All previously published estimates (i.e., old vintages) are superseded and archived on the FTP2 site. Due to periodic methodological updates, such as this year’s immigration adjustment, year-to-year comparisons in the estimates should only be done within the same vintage.

To compare U.S. national and state population and demographic components of population change with those of other countries, explore the International Database (IDB). The IDB consists of estimates and projections of demographic indicators, including population size and growth, and components of change like mortality, fertility and net international migration for more than 220 countries and areas. This information, along with interactive maps and subnational data, is available on the International Database: World Population Estimates and Projections page.

**Top 10 Most Populous States: 2024**
Rank	Geographic Area	April 1, 2020 (Estimates Base)	July 1, 2023	July 1, 2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates.
1	California	39,555,674	39,198,693	39,431,263
2	Texas	29,149,458	30,727,890	31,290,831
3	Florida	21,538,192	22,904,868	23,372,215
4	New York	20,203,772	19,737,367	19,867,248
5	Pennsylvania	13,002,909	13,017,721	13,078,751
6	Illinois	12,821,814	12,642,259	12,710,158
7	Ohio	11,799,453	11,824,034	11,883,304
8	Georgia	10,713,755	11,064,432	11,180,878
9	North Carolina	10,441,499	10,881,189	11,046,024
10	Michigan	10,079,338	10,083,356	10,140,459

**Top 10 States by Numeric Growth: 2023-2024**
Rank	Geographic Area	April 1, 2020 (Estimates Base)	July 1, 2023	July 1, 2024	Numeric Growth
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates
1	Texas	29,149,458	30,727,890	31,290,831	562,941
2	Florida	21,538,192	22,904,868	23,372,215	467,347
3	California	39,555,674	39,198,693	39,431,263	232,570
4	North Carolina	10,441,499	10,881,189	11,046,024	164,835
5	New York	20,203,772	19,737,367	19,867,248	129,881
6	New Jersey	9,289,014	9,379,642	9,500,851	121,209
7	Georgia	10,713,755	11,064,432	11,180,878	116,446
8	Arizona	7,158,110	7,473,027	7,582,384	109,357
9	Washington	7,707,586	7,857,320	7,958,180	100,860
10	South Carolina	5,118,252	5,387,830	5,478,831