Governor Kasich’s recently released executive budget includes several noteworthy adjustments to funding within the state’s developmental disabilities system. Touted as an extension of the state’s “historic” investments of the previous budget cycle, the proposal includes increased funding on several important initiatives.[i] However, the budget includes some notable cuts as well. Overall, the budget proposes a...
Tag: Ohio
The Gift of the MAGI?
Medicaid is big and complicated. As I have written about before, the intertangled state and federal monies, processes, and policies that comprise the Medicaid program vary greatly from state to state and, as the saying goes, if you’ve seen one state Medicaid program, you’ve seen one state Medicaid program. With that said, Medicaid occupies a...
Prevention in Ohio: Examining Ohio’s Efforts to Curb the State’s Drug Epidemic through Prevention Education
In August, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office announced[1] the formation of a study committee to examine drug use prevention education in Ohio schools. The committee consists of members from both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate in addition to numerous educators, members of the law enforcement community, state agencies, and organizations that focus on...
Digging into Ohio Medicaid’s SFY16 Report
This month, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) submitted its Annual Report to the governor. The document, which has been released each year since State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2014, provides an overview of the initiatives (and the related messaging) behind some of the work of ODM. As we wait for the final budget from Governor...
Preparing for the State Budget: OBM Releases Guidance
On July 20, 2016, the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) released guidance for the Fiscal Years 2018-2019 Operating Budget. The newly released guidance serves as an initial roadmap for executive agencies’ priorities for the approaching 2018 and 2019 State Operating Budget. In the coming months, state agencies will develop budget requests based on...
Marketplace Take-Up Rates in Northeast Ohio: Coverage Growth and Coverage Gaps
With 20 million more Americans with healthcare coverage just six years after its passage, it is undeniable that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had a profound impact on the uninsured rate in the U.S. and here in Northeast Ohio. Due to the combination of Medicaid extension and the Federally-facilitated Marketplace, Ohio...
Healthy Ohio Waiver Released
On June 30, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) submitted its application for the legislatively required 1115 Demonstration Waiver known as “Healthy Ohio” to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Throughout the state development process, we have written and posted about Healthy Ohio in order to address our concerns and questions regarding...
County Profiles: What’s New, and What Can We Learn?
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...
JMOC: Redesign Update and Panel Discussion
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...
An Update on the Extension of 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...