Keep so-called “Healthy Ohio” out of state budget
Posted June 25, 2019 in Press Releases
Policy Matters Ohio Senior Project Director Wendy Patton issued a statement calling for the Conference Committee to keep the so-called “Healthy Ohio Plan” out the state budget.
“The latest iteration of the so-called “Healthy Ohio Plan” (HOP) could prevent Ohioans from getting crucial medical care like oxygen, an ambulance ride, or addiction treatment -- simply because they can’t afford it. It emerged at the last minute in the House budget, and was stripped out before the final vote. It should stay on the trash heap.
“HOP, put forward by State Representative Jim Butler, would apply to 1 million Ohioans who use Medicaid. The federal government nixed a similar plan in the 2016-17 budget. The new HOP would charge “premiums” (monthly payments) for most non-elderly adults who use Medicaid. Those who pay the premiums get services through a program called the ‘Plus’ plan. Those who can’t pay or miss too many payments are dropped into an inferior ‘Basic’ plan.
“Butler’s proposal is based on the ‘Healthy Indiana Plan,’ which has been a disaster. Sixty-thousand eligible Hoosiers either didn’t get in or dropped out of the program because they couldn’t afford the premiums. Almost half of those eligible for the Healthy Indiana Plan between February of 2015 and November of 2016 lost services because they couldn’t pay.
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has been great for Ohio. We now have fewer people without insurance and more jobs in the health care industry. Butler’s plan will send Ohio backwards and make us a sicker, less prosperous state.
Read Policy Matters’ analysis of the Healthy Ohio Plan.
Download 53019healthyohiobrief2.pdf