SBM: The Sales Tax and Medicaid Managed Care: Short-run Revenues vs. Long-run Challenges (12/16/11)
"Cuyahoga County Human Services Financial Profile: 2012 and Beyond" by Susan Ackerman, Barbara Riley, Paul Marshall (12/13/11)
"Highlights: Cuyahoga County 2012-2013 Executive’s Recommended Budget" by Emily Campbell (11/1/11)
SBM: The Ryan White HIV Drug Assistance Program (10/07/11)
SBM: Unspinning the Numbers: The FY 2012-2013 Budget, As Enacted (8/15/11)
SBM: 2012 Family Planning Medicaid Expansion: A Win-Win-Win for Ohio's Families (7/29/11)
Estimation of Small-Area Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (07/12/11)
“The Foreign Born Population” by Mark Salling (07/11/11)
SBM: Budget Update: H.B. 153, the FY 2012-2013 Budget,as Passed by the Senate (6/2011)
Legislative Action Needed to Rescue Ryan White Program (05/17/11)
SBM: Highlights of House Changes to H.B. 153, the FY 2012-2013 Budget (5/25/11)
SBM: Disease Prevention And Health Promotion: Building A Case for Change in Ohio’s Public Health System (4/14/11)
Financing Ohio's Future: Human Services in Tough Times, Second Edition (03/11)
SBM: Early Childhood Challenges and Opportunities (2/15/11)
Family Planning Funds in Danger of Elimination—Melissa Federman (2/14/11)
H.B. 68: Bipartisan Commission to Reform Behavioral Health (2/07/11)
Reform, Not Repeal, Best Option for Ohio’s Estate Tax (2/07/11)
Reforming Health Reform by John Begala (2/02/11)
“By the Numbers”: Mental health services in Ohio (1/26/11)
Health Care Reform Needs Better Prevention Coverage (10/4/10)
Cuyahoga County Human Services Briefing Book (09/10)
Thinking the Unthinkable: Finding Common Ground for Resolving Ohio's Fiscal Crisis (6/24/10)
Financing Ohio's Future: Human Services in Tough Times, Primer
Major Components of Federal Health Care Reform (3/31/10)
On March 30, 2010 President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation act, completinghealth care reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law one week earlier.
Poor National and Local Economies Keep People from Moving: An Analysis of 2009 County Population Estimates for Northeast Ohio (3/26/10)
Foreclosures and the Displaced Family: Where Are they Going? (1/15/10)
What Census Data Tells US
Summit County Early Child Development Inventory of Resources/Early Childhood Services Survey (3/19/10)
Summit County Early Child Development Inventory of Resources Appendix A: Agency Sites (3/19/10)
Summit County Early Child Development Inventory of Resources Appendix B: Child Care Sites (3/19/10)
Summit County Early Child Development Appendix C: Supplementary Maps (3/19/10)
Recovery Act Put $2.5 Billion in Ohioans' Pockets: A County-by-County Review (2/25/10)
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was split between formula funding for state and local government programs, competitive grants, and direct benefits to Americans. The State of Ohio is expected to receive $8.2 billion in formula funding, and competitive grants in excess of $817 million have already been awarded to Ohio entities. This report examines four direct assistance provisions of ARRA: a boost in monthly food stamp1 benefits, a one-time $250 payment for Social Security and SSI recipients, a $25 per week increase in unemployment benefits, and the Making Work Pay tax credit.
State Revenue Update (2/24/10)
Decreased state premiums for Medicare Part D bring more relief, but weaknesses in the CAT and Personal Income Tax revenue spell trouble ahead.
Families Are Struggling; Reliance on Government Assistance Grows (2/04/10)
To help states deal with record growth in the food stamp program, later this month, the federal government will provide $400 million in additional funds for administrative expenses such as eligibility determination. This is both critical and commendable because, during periods of high unemployment, the reliance on public assistance grows as struggling families turn to government programs to help them meet their basic needs.
State Revenue Update: 2010 Brings Some Good News, but Many Unmet Needs Remain (1/14/10)
In response to an $851 million shortfall in the K-12 education budget, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 318, which temporarily cancelled the final year of a planned five years of personal income tax cuts. The Center for Community Solutions, along other advocates from education and social services, testified in support of the bill. The bill was also supported by the Ohio Business Roundtable.
State Fiscal Relief has Helped Ohio (1/7/10)
States with high unemployment and depressed state revenue collections, such as Ohio, will continue to struggle for some time after the national recession officially ends. State fiscal relief has been an effective economic stimulus in previous recessions and has preserved thousands of Ohio jobs. Ohio would greatly benefit from an extension of aid to state government, such as the extension of additional federal Medicaid funding or more money to support state and local spending on education and general government services.
Health Profile of Lorain County: Results from the 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey (12/09)
Ohio Green Jobs and Workforce Needs: A Report for the KnowledgeWorks Foundation (11/09)
A Balanced Approach Promoted Ohio Recovery after Previous Recessions (10/29/09)
The historical record shows that raising taxes during a recession will not harm an economic recovery. In fact, just the opposite is likely to occur. Ohio raised taxes in the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s to fund vital public services, and job growth was strong during the economic recoveries that followed. In the current decade, the state saw moderate job growth under a temporary sales tax and then lost jobs starting in 2006 after taxes were cut.
The Governor's Announcement on Taxes: A step in the right direction (10/1/09)
On September 30, 2009, Governor Strickland acknowledged that the plan to install slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racetracks would not take place in this state budget biennium (FY 2010-2011).
Three Large Ohio Cities Among Nation's Poorest (9/29/09)
In Ohio’s cities, the ranks of those living in poverty are growing, according to Census Bureau data released today. Nearly one-third of Cleveland residents eke out an existence below the poverty line, making it the second poorest city in America. The poverty threshold for a family of four is $22,050. Ohio has the dubious distinction of being the only state with more than one large city among the 10 poorest in America. Cincinnati ranked seventh with 25.1 percent in poverty, and Toledo ranted eighth with a poverty rate of 24.7 percent.
Primary Medical Care Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas, Cuyahoga County, 2009
Lack of Health Insurance Concentrated Among Working-Age Ohioans: New Census data highlights need for comprehensive health reform (9/22/09)
More than one in five working age adults in Ohio’s cities did not have health insurance coverage in 2008, according to health insurance data the Census Bureau released today. These findings and the expectation that the situation will worsen in 2009 highlight the need to enact comprehensive health care reform.
Ohio Supreme Court uphold Commercial Activity Tax, but revenues still fall short of meet state's needs (9/17/09)
In a major tax law case decided today (Ohio Grocers Association v. Levin), the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state Commercial Activity Tax (CAT), a new tax that began in 2005. The ruling will preserve approximately $188 million dollars in revenue this year and means the state will not have to repay more than $355 million of previous years’ tax collections. It removes one of many threats to the revenue stream in the new state biennial budget and may help to postpone the need for budget reductions this calendar year. The CAT is expected to bring in approximately $1.4 billion per year over the next two years.
Health Care Reform: A Brief Glossary of Terms (8/27/09)
Impact of Health Care Measures (8/27/09)
Proposed Funding Levels Push Community Mental Health System to Brink of Collapse (7/7/09)
Governor Strickland’s FY 2010-2011 budget framework proposes deep cuts in General Revenue Fund (GRF) funding for the community mental health system that will leave many Ohioans who have mental illness unable to access mental health treatment services in their communities. Once the costs of Medicaid and inpatient hospitalization are factored out, only $32.4 million, or 4 percent, remain to offset non-Medicaid expenses statewide for the next two years. This translates to the paltry sum of less than $324,000 per county board per year.
Film Tax Credit will be a loser for Ohio (6/26/09)
One of the proposed new tax breaks is directed to the movie-making industry. Under a proposal included in H.B. 1, Ohio would join 41 other states that offer preferential tax treatment in the hope of luring film production to the state.
SBM: Recovery Watch 1: ARRA More Than Just Dollars and Cents (5/22/09)
While much of the focus has been on the funding aspects of ARRA, the legislation included numerous other provisions which do not have specific price tags, but make improvements in programs that can have real impacts on states.
SBM: Medicaid and the Impending Train Wreck in Ohio Government (5/1/09)
The evolution of Ohio’s Medicaid program through the decades is exemplary proof of George Santayana’s well-worn admonition: "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Consuming four of every 10 dollars in Ohio’s biennial budget, the state’s (and country’s) largest health program is again at the center of controversy, fiddling around the edges of meaningful health reform, and unconstructive political gamesmanship.
Managing Medicaid: An Update on the Report of the Ohio Medicaid Administrative Study Council (4/09)
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (4/9/09)
Select Health, Education, and Social Service Appropriations
11th Congress: Ohio Delegation Committee Assignments (3/18/09)
Profile of the Uninsured in Cuyahoga, Lorain, and Summit Counties: Results from the 2008 Family Health Survey (3/17/09)
The Value of Food Stamp Benefits in Ohio - and Across the County - Is Shrinking (2/09)
One of the most important issues Congress will address in this year’s Farm Bill is the future of the Food Stamp Program. Roughly 1 million Ohioans, and 26 million Americans overall, rely on food stamps to help them purchase a nutritionally adequate diet. Unfortunately, food stamps are worth only about $1.10 per meal for the average Ohioan, and because the benefit doesn’t keep up with the cost of living, the amount of food they can purchase is steadily declining.
Revisiting Medicaid Reform (1/09)
Taxing Issues REDUX (01/09)
As a follow-up to Taxing Issues, Taxing Issues Redux formulates a broadly shared understanding of the complex factors contributing to Ohio’s fiscal woes, and in so doing help shape a debate that is disciplined, constructive and yielding of proximate solutions to a seemingly insoluble problem.
2008 Cuyahoga County Workforce Indicators:
Introduction and Summary
Workforce Indicators
Appendix A
Appendix B
Leave No Worker or Training Dollar Behind (8/14/08)
Solutions for expanding Ohio's use of Career Advancement Accounts
Rule Changes are DIfferent, but Both Would Hurt Ohio (4/30/08)
In the last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made a number of rulings that could profoundly limit Medicaid’s reach. These changes break down into two categories: the August 17 CMS SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) Directive and a collection of seven Medicaid changes that are being addressed together.
Economic Stimulus Good, But More Needed (2/15/08)
The growing concern that the U.S. economy may be headed for a recession has fueled recent discussions about the need for economic stimulus. The desire to reverse an economic downturn is not uncommon, but government policies aimed at boosting the economy must be carefully crafted to ensure they are effective.
Governor's Medicaid Health Care Coverage Proposals Appear Sustainable (4/17/07)
Governor Ted Strickland’s Medicaid budget proposal contains a number of coverage expansions and restorations (e.g., restoring Medicaid coverage for 25,000 parents and expanding eligibility for children under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program). Yet, despite these additional costs, the overall annual rate of growth is well below the average annual rate of growth seen since 1999, and the costs of the expansions represent a very small portion of the overall state share of the Medicaid 525 line item and/or the overall state general revenue fund (GRF) appropriations.
Cuyahoga County's Uninsured and the Problems they Face (6/05)
Lorain County's Uninsured and the Problems they Face (6/05)
Summit County's Uninsured and the Problems they Face (6/05)
GEOHEALTH 2004
Geographic Information Systems and Public Health: Accomplishments and Horizons