Braun unveils 9 executive orders to help ‘Make Indiana Healthy Again’

INDIANAPOLIS — With a backdrop featuring the motto “Make Indiana Healthy Again,” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun stood side by side with Robert F. Kennedy and Mehmet Oz, emphasizing their collective intention to make Indiana a healthier state while further promoting health and wellness at the federal level.

Braun signed a series of nine executive orders on Tuesday, promoting Hoosier health and the state’s well-being. During his remarks, Oz said that this “breaks the record by far” surrounding the “Make America Healthy Again” effort.

These orders included ones surrounding the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, assessing the health impacts of artificial dyes and increasing Hoosier access to local foods. Braun said on Tuesday that these orders will help Indiana best align Indiana with federal health efforts.

Kennedy is the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump. He has publicly criticized vaccines, as well as the overall healthcare system. Kennedy is also a previous independent presidential candidate. Earlier this month, Oz, a former TV host and heart surgeon, was confirmed as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

During his campaign, and during his first few months in office, Braun has made healthcare a priority. According to previous reports, Braun has signed multiple executive orders surrounding healthcare costs, Medicaid and increasing access and transparency for healthcare providers.

Braun said each one of these executive orders help change the underlying issues that Indiana residents can control.

“This isn’t the usual top-down, one-size-fits-all public health agenda,” Braun said in the release surrounding the orders. “We’re focused on root causes, giving Hoosiers the transparent information to make decisions affecting their health, making it easier to access to fresh local food from Indiana’s incredible farms, and taking on the problems in government programs that are contributing to making our communities less healthy.”

What are the nine executive orders?

SNAP

The first four orders signed by Braun on Tuesday surrounded the SNAP program, including encouraging the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration to exclude candy and soft drinks from the program.

This particular order states that the FSSA will apply for a waiver to exclude candy and soft drinks from the list of SNAP-eligible products. If the waiver is approved at the federal level, the release said that those products will be eliminated from the list.

The state’s secretary of Health and Family Services will also recommend additional items to be removed from the SNAP-eligible list “understood to have low nutritional value and a positive correlation with weight gain and obesity…”

The other orders related to SNAP include:

• The FSSA will overhaul its employment and training program to assign all non-exempt SNAP recipients to work requirements.
• The reinstatement of asset testing for SNAP eligibility and limits eligibility to households receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Family-funded cash assistance, work supports, childcare assistance or households participating in TANF-funded work, education or training programs
• The FSSA and the State Budget Agency will review federal SNAP statutes and report findings to federal officials by Dec. 31, 2025, advocating for more state flexibility.

Other orders

The other orders that Braun signed on Tuesday included ones surrounding increasing transparency surrounding food dyes, the development of a diet-related chronic disease plan and increasing access to local foods.

Executive Order 25-66: Making Indiana Healthy Again by Increasing Consumer Transparency Related to Food Dyes and Additives

This order tasks the Indiana Department of Health with conducting a comprehensive assessment on the health impacts of artificial food dyes and additives. Officials said that they will prioritize those that have been identified as harmful by the federal government or other states.

The release said the assessment will look at scientific research, health risks as well as advice from food safety specialists and consumer advocates. Recommendations for state actions are then expected to be made to the governor’s office.

In the release, and during Tuesday’s conference, Braun said he had concerns surrounding food transparency regarding artificial food dyes, stating that this order helps assess and address these concerns.

Executive Order 25-57: Making Indiana Healthy Again by Developing a Comprehensive Diet-Related Chronic Disease Plan

Through this order, the state’s secretary of Health and Family Services will “conduct a comprehensive study on diet-related chronic disease in Indiana” specifically surrounding kids.

This study will also help the state improve how diet-related chronic disease programs can be improved, including programs surrounding:

• Physical activity
• Nutrition
• Chronic disease management

The aim of this order is to improve these kinds of state programs, and gather data surrounding how effective they are at reducing the chronic disease in the state of Indiana, ultimately improving them to “get better return-on-investment, fill gaps in services and reduce regulatory barriers.”

Executive Order 25-58: Making Indiana Healthy Again by Increasing Hoosier Access to Local Foods

This order directs the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to conduct a comprehensive study related to the access of local foods in the state of Indiana, as well as direct-to-consumer food sales from Hoosier farmers.

Officials said that the order’s purpose is to identify opportunities to increase those direct-to-consumer sales and help identify ways that Indiana is “getting in the way” of that.

Executive Order 25-59: Making Indiana Healthy Again by Promoting the Health and Wellness of Hoosier Students

This order stablishes the Governor’s Fitness Test, as well as School Fitness Month, which will include recommended activities and lessons to increase physical activity and health awareness for students.

The release said these programs will also encourage healthier and local food options through increasing farm-to-school programs. It is also expected to provide parents with transparent nutritional data for school meals.

Executive Order 25-60: Assuring Prudent Use of Taxpayer Funds by Ensuring Integrity in the Indiana Medicaid Program

This order requires the FSSA to stop accepting self-attested eligibility for the state’s Medicaid program and enforce hospital performance standards for presumptive eligibility. The FSSA will also use interagency data to identify ineligible recipients and initiate redeterminations.

This comes after the state experienced a $1 billion budget shortfall in 2024 and a 28.8% improper payment rate in the most recent federal audit.

Reaction to orders

During his remarks on Tuesday, Kennedy said the orders are designed to improve farms, fitness, food, education and health. With these orders, Kennedy said that he has nothing but optimism for the state of Indiana and encouraged governors across the country to follow Indiana’s lead with these initiatives.

Oz said Tuesday was “a monumental day” for the state of Indiana, stating that the federal health effort is a “generational opportunity to make this country as healthy as it should be.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who was also on hand for Tuesday’s announcement, said that Indiana is going to lead the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

“Hoosiers in large numbers support the MAHA movement, and the promises that were made are now being kept thanks to the Trump and Braun administration,” Rokita said in a news release.

U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indiana District 7 made the following statement surrounding Braun’s announcement on Tuesday:

“Today’s announcement claims to address health issues in Indiana, but it restricts access to two of the most impactful programs on Hoosiers’ health – SNAP and Medicaid.

“Hoosiers deserve access to fresh, healthy, affordable food – but Trump policies are causing grocery costs to rise and cutting SNAP benefits. Hoosiers deserve affordable healthcare, vaccinations, and preventative care – but Trump policies have already cut local vaccination funding, and today’s announcement pushes us closer to the largest Medicaid cut in history. Plus, the Trump administration has proposed cuts to school lunches and extreme tariffs that will cripple Hoosier farmers.

“I welcome any efforts from our state to improve nutrition and healthy eating, but further restricting access to Medicaid and SNAP is the wrong way to go.”

In a statement from Indiana State Rep. Maureen Bauer, a Democrat from South Bend, said she appreciates Braun’s focus on health outcomes and preventative care, but highlighted the efforts that have previously been made by House Democrats surrounding healthcare.

“It’s not leadership to bring your D.C. friends in for a flashy announcement but then fail to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to actually funding local public health programs,” she said.

Indiana State Senator Shelli Yoder, a Democrat from Bloomington, the Senate’s minority leader and a ranking minority member on the Health and Provider Services Committee, said that she believes that Tuesday’s announcement was not a health initiative, but a headline strategy.

“This should be a wake-up call for every Hoosier,” Yoder said. “Because what’s being offered today isn’t a path to better health — it’s a roadmap for more government inefficiency and duplication of the most basic of research at the tax payers’ expense. And unless we demand better, the body policing won’t stop at SNAP or soda or simply just being a woman. It will keep going — into our hospitals, our schools and our homes. Health is not a slogan. It’s access. It’s care. It’s compassion. And it’s time our policies reflected that.” 

Tuesday’s full news conference can be viewed in the video player above.