This week, we’re pleased to introduce updated county profile factsheets. Our hope is that you’ll find them to be a useful resource for better understanding the needs in your community and advocating for programs and policies that can improve health and social conditions around the state. The factsheets focus on data related to health and human services around the state,...
June 28, 2016January 16, 2018
JMOC: Paying for Value
by Loren Anthesin Ohio
The Governor’s Office of Health Transformation (OHT) has made the transition to value-based payment its main focus since it was created in the beginning of the Kasich Administration. Now, before the budgetary swan song for this governor, many of the seeds planted in those early stages are starting to bear fruit and OHT is ramping up its Medicaid work in...
June 17, 2016January 16, 2018
Fathers Matter: An Update on Cuyahoga County’s Fatherhood Initiative
Fathers play an important role in our culture and our society. There are good programs across the country that are aimed at supporting fathers in helping them to be strong role models and examples in their family. However, there are not many public sector entities in which there is an entire division where the sole purpose is to support Fathers....
June 8, 2016January 16, 2018
Ohio Announces Initial Approval of HCBS Transition Plan
by Rose Frechin County Budget
On Monday, June 6th, the Ohio Office of Health Transformation released a statement announcing the recent initial approval of the state’s Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Transition Plan, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The plan, submitted originally in March, 2015, was developed in response to new CMS rules for states operating 1915(c) HCBS Medicaid waivers. The new...
June 6, 2016January 16, 2018
Cuyahoga County Council Health, Human Services & Aging Committee Meetings
On April 20, 2016, the Cuyahoga County Council Health, Human Services & Aging Committee heard from David Merriman, administrator for the Department of Child and Family Services, requesting approval of a contract for Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U). Y.O.U. was selected in response to a County RFP for the implementation of a summer youth employment program. At the time of the...
June 3, 2016January 16, 2018
JMOC: Redesign Update and Panel Discussion
by Loren Anthesin Medicaid
The Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC) had a lengthy discussion on May 26th regarding alcohol and drug addiction. During the meeting, which featured a panel of experts in the field, there were two main points of conversation. First, there was a “status update” by Dr. Mark Hurst, Medical Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (ODMHAS),...
May 18, 2016January 16, 2018
An Update on the Extension of Medicaid
by Loren Anthesin Medicaid
Ohio’s Medicaid extension has received a lot of scrutiny from the media, policymakers, and policy experts since its implementation in 2014. This scrutiny has only increased in the past few months during Governor Kasich’s Presidential run and as the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) finalizes its statutorily required 1115 demonstration waiver, Healthy Ohio. While many have been extolling the value...
May 13, 2016January 16, 2018
Update on Disability Determination Redesign (DDR)
by Tara Brittonin Medicaid
As the state prepares to transition to a unified disability determination system, thus ending the Medicaid spend-down program, additional information about who will be affected by the transition, and the impact of these changes, has been released. The Governor’s Office of Health Transformation (OHT) published an overview of the changes. The impact of the state’s transition from a 209(b) state...
May 5, 2016January 16, 2018
DODD Scorecard Suggests Progress on Budget Initiatives has been Slow
by Rose Frechin Ohio
The Ohio Department of Development Disabilities (DODD) recently released updated data highlighting progress on several key initiatives, including expanding home-and-community based service (HCBS) waiver enrollment and increasing access to community employment. These initiatives were developed as a result of the last biennial budget, which included a $300 million investment in DODD services, mostly aimed at increasing access to community living...
May 2, 2016January 16, 2018
State Hard at Work on Integrated HIV Prevention and Care Plan
by Tara Brittonin Health
As mandated by the Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau (HRSA/HAB) and the Centers for Disease Control, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (CDC/DHAP), the State of Ohio has begun working on a five-year plan on HIV prevention and care needs, existing resources, barriers and gaps within jurisdictions, and how it plans to address them for 2017-2021. The plan is due...