The conclusion of the budget process for fiscal year (FY) 2026 and 2027 has made notable expenditures across Ohio departments and agencies. House Bill 96 of the 136th General Assembly (GA) provides $44.42 billion of federal and state appropriation to the General Revenue Fund (GRF) in FY 2026, and $46.08 billion for FY 2027. State GRF appropriations amount to $29.84 billion in FY 2026 and $30.72 billion in FY 2027. There is a grand total of $99.53 billion for FY 2026 and $101.16 billion in FY 2027 across all funds. This provides an overview of spending in the major health and human services agencies and focuses on the major programmatic changes in this budget.
Ohio Department of Health
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) works with over 110 local health departments across the state, as well as health care providers and public health associations to protect and promote public health. ODH received a total appropriation of $978.6 million in FY 2026 and $989.7 million in FY 2027. This equates to a 14.1 percent increase and 1.1 percent increase in funding, respectively. The increase in funding reflects additional anticipated federal awards over the biennium as GRF decreases 13.0 percent from FY 2025 spending.
ODH received a total appropriation of $978.6 million in FY 2026 and $989.7 million in FY 2027.
Harm Reduction
While harm reduction-related initiatives are funded across different areas in the budget, such as in the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), the final budget overall included less dedicated funding for harm reduction than the Governor’s initial proposal. The Governor had earmarked up to $250,000 a year for local harm reduction efforts within the Department of Health’s budget, and this earmark was removed in the final budget. While not an ODH budget provision, as it was included in the Board of Pharmacy’s budget, it is worth noting that the final budget expands beyond fentanyl testing strips, items that may be lawfully possessed and used to test for the presence of drugs and to prevent drug poisoning, without being in violation of Ohio’s drug paraphernalia laws.
Disease Prevention
One of the most important jobs that ODH is tasked with is disease prevention and public health preparedness activities. These activities prevent diseases and promote health through assessment and interventions. The activities, funded through numerous line-items, which are indicated in the table below, received $102.4 million in FY 2026 and $103.2 million in FY 2027. The largest item is the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities line-items, which fund prevention and care activities.
Lead Prevention
Historically, ODH provided funding to local governments for projects to address lead in homes. Previously, this was done through two different line-items. The first was the Lead Abatement line-item, which received a 96.8 percent cut in funding from $7.9 million in FY 2025 to $250,000 in each fiscal year of the biennium. The other line-item was the Lead-Safe Home Fund Program, which distributed $1.2 million in FY 2025 to remove lead from homes and received no funding in the final budget. The only provision that was expanded in the final budget to address lead is the Lead Abatement Tax Credit, which was increased from $10,000 to $40,000, yet the total amount of tax credits that can be issued decreased from $5.0 million to $3.0 million.
Read the series, analysis by individual agency
Department of Behavioral Health
