Medicaid Archives | Innovation Ohio

Mar 05 2020

Women Have Outsized Stake in Census and Play Key Role in Ensuring a Complete Count

This blog post from the Ohio Women’s Public Policy Network originally appeared on the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition‘s website.

Every ten years, the United States Census Bureau conducts a count of the entire U.S. population, known as the census.

The census determines a lot of important information, including government representation and the allocation of critical federal funding for programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance. Getting a complete and accurate count is important, especially for women and their families who have a lot at stake in the census – and women will play a key role in ensuring this happens.

Not only are women one of the biggest groups impacted by the census, but they play a crucial role in ensuring that an accurate count happens at all.

One of the most fundamental outcomes of the census is the determination it plays in the allocation of federal funding to the states. In Ohio, there are more than $33 billion dollars in funding for public programs on the line, and many of those programs provide crucial support women and their families need to live healthy and economically secure lives.

For many women, the funding that could be forfeited due to an incomplete census count would jeopardize their family’s health, safety, and financial stability: The mother who relies on federal aid to receive quality child care, allowing her to continue to work and provide for her family. The young woman who receives STI testing and prevention through access to Medicaid. The woman who has turned to Ohio’s network of domestic violence shelters for protection and the help she needs to get her family on their feet.

Because women often serve as family caregivers, the stakes are even higher.

$675 billion for social programs and services like SNAP and Medicaid, relies on your participation in the 2020 Census — Find more resources for census outreach

There is probably no greater example of the weight of the census for women than Medicaid dollars. Women comprise the majority of the adult Medicaid population – before the passage of the Affordable Care Act and today. Medicaid is a crucial resource for women to access the healthcare they need, and it impacts women’s ability to remain healthy and join or stay in the workforce. Whether it’s pregnancy care, postpartum care, Pap tests, timely blood pressure checks, or other preventative services, women have a lot on the line when it comes to Medicaid funding.

Because women often serve as family caregivers, the stakes are even higher. Two in five female-headed families with children are living in poverty – that’s nearly 90 percent higher than that of male-headed families with children. These mothers and their children rely on full funding for programs like SNAP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Head Start, and even housing vouchers.

Not only are women one of the biggest groups impacted by the census, but they play a crucial role in ensuring that an accurate count happens at all. Census research indicates that one person often takes the lead in filling out the Census for the whole family. Women, who are increasingly the main caregiver or head of household, are more likely to take the lead in their families. As the 2020 Census approaches, it’s important to recognize the key role Ohio women play and the outsized impact an incomplete count will have on their livelihood and their families.

Sep 28 2018

What’s At Stake For Medicaid In The Race For Ohio Governor

Our latest policy report looks at what’s at stake for Medicaid in this year’s race for Governor. The analysis examines the importance of Medicaid using new state and county-level data, how the candidates for Governor’s plans could impact the program, and its role in combatting the opioid epidemic.

Summary

While candidate Richard Cordray has expressed his support for the Medicaid expansions, his opponent has laid out plans that could drastically change the program. As Attorney General, Mike DeWine sued to stop the Medicaid expansion and has proposed changes that could risk the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. The report notes that DeWine has still not taken a position on the legislature’s passage of a Medicaid expansion freeze, which Gov. John Kasich vetoed.

Other key findings include:

21% of Ohioans rely on Medicaid for their healthcare. In some counties, this number is as high as 40%.
Medicaid expansion has helped to lower Ohio’s uninsured rate from 13.9% to 6% in four years.
DeWine’s proposed changes to Medicaid could risk the healthcare of at least 318,000 Ohioans.
59% of Ohio nursing home residents use Medicaid coverage for that service.

Read the report: Healthcare is on the Ballot in Ohio: Medicaid and The Governors Race

Sep 28 2018

Innovation Ohio Releases New Medicaid Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 28, 2018

Innovation Ohio Releases New Medicaid Report Policy report looks at gubernatorial candidates, includes county by county Medicaid numbers

Columbus, OH – Today, Innovation Ohio released a new policy report on what is at stake for Medicaid in this year’s gubernatorial election. The analysis, titled “Healthcare is on the Ballot in Ohio: Medicaid and The Governors Race,” examines the importance of Medicaid and where candidates Rich Cordray and Mike DeWine stand on the program. The report is online here. The report looks at new state and county-level numbers, as well as the potential impacts of each candidate’s plans. It also lays out the vital role Medicaid expansion has played in combatting Ohio’s opioid epidemic. In Washington County, where the next gubernatorial debate will be held, nearly a quarter of the population relies on Medicaid for their healthcare. In neighboring counties in Appalachia, that number rises to nearly a third. “Healthcare truly is on the ballot this fall,” said Innovation Ohio President Janetta King. “Medicaid is a vital program for all of Ohio, but it plays an outsized role in our Appalachian region. It’s important that voters know how their healthcare could be impacted by each candidate.” While Cordray has expressed his support for Medicaid, DeWine has laid out plans that would cripple the program. DeWine sued to stop the Medicaid expansion and has expressed support for changes that could risk the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. The report notes that DeWine has still not taken a position on the legislature’s passage of a Medicaid expansion freeze, which Gov. John Kasich vetoed. Other key findings in the report include:

21% of Ohioans rely on Medicaid for their healthcare. In some counties, this number is as high as 40%.

Medicaid expansion has helped to lower Ohio’s uninsured rate from 13.9% to 6% in four years.

DeWine’s proposed changes to Medicaid could risk the healthcare of at least 318,000 Ohioans.

59% of Ohio nursing home residents use Medicaid coverage for that service.

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Jul 23 2018

Ohio 12 On The Issues: Healthcare

Ohio is the battleground for the nation’s next Special Election for Congress, and healthcare is on the ballot. On August 7, voters in seven Ohio counties will choose between two candidates with very different approaches to healthcare issues. To make sense of what’s at stake, we put together a fact sheet to highlight the issues in play in Congress for residents of the 12th Congressional District.

Healthcare Facts

Since the ACA’s passage, the uninsured rate in District 12 has dropped from 9.2 to 4.1 percent.
30 percent of the district’s 748,000 residents have some form of public healthcare, including
9% of District 12 kids rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Nineteen percent of District 12 residents are on Medicaid, including many seniors and people with disabilities
328,300 residents of District 12 have a pre-existing condition

>> Read our Fact Sheet About What’s At Stake

The Candidates

During the primary, Republican Troy Balderson claimed to have “fought Obamacare” and his campaign has stated that Balderson “wants to repeal and replace it in Congress.” Balderson, however, says he would like to see the requirement to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions preserved. As a State Senator, Balderson voted to freeze Medicaid expansion during state budget negotiations. The plan would prohibit new enrollment in the program and block re-enrollment as current enrollees cycle off due to income and employment fluctuations and was estimated could result in a loss of coverage for 500,000 Ohioans. The measure was vetoed by Governor Kasich.

A major theme of Democrat Danny O’Connor‘s campaign is preserving access to affordable healthcare. O’Connor is running televised ads featuring his mother, a breast cancer survivor, noting that the experience led him to realize everyone–regardless of income–should have access to affordable healthcare. O’Connor supports the Affordable Care Act and says he wants to preserve the law. O’Connor says he favors so-called “common sense” reforms including “extending open enrollment periods during tax season, protecting those with pre-existing conditions and spending money to encourage younger and healthier people to get federally subsidized individual insurance plans.” He has also promised to take on pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

Regarding healthcare for older Ohioans, O’Connor says he would not change the current retirement age for Medicare, while Balderson says he is open to raising the retirement age. >> View Our Healthcare Fact Sheet >> Return to our District 12 Special Election Resources Page

Jan 16 2013

Bringin’ the weak stuff …

A report released yesterday by the Urban Institute Health Policy Center showed that an Obamacare Medicaid expansion in Ohio would provide coverage to 456,000 currently uninsured residents and actually create revenue for the state for the next decade. The Kasich Administration is currently deciding whether it will participate in the Medicaid expansion. In the beginning of an expansion, the federal government would pick up 100 percent of the cost to the state. The federal contribution would scale down over the first few years and settle at a 90 percent cost pick up. The Urban Institute’s work is nonpartisan. As reported by the Plain Dealer, it projects revenue increases in the state based on an increased number of healthcare workers paying taxes and increased tax revenue from managed care providers. The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based conservative think tank countered the report’s findings – but not with anything resembling reality or facts:

Greg Lawson, a policy analyst with the conservative Buckeye Institute, said he was concerned that Medicaid may not provide the best care possible to enrollees. In addition, he raised a question about promised funds from the federal (government) remaining, considering the federal debt ceiling debates in Washington. (Plain Dealer)

Uhm, isn’t healthcare – any healthcare – better than no healthcare coverage? How does the debt ceiling have anything to do with the settled law that is the Affordable Care Act? (It doesn’t.) The facts continue to line up on the side of Medicaid expansion being a good thing for states. It’s too bad that Gov. John Kasich hasn’t already agreed to participate, but I’ll take his administration’s word that it’s getting serious consideration and hope that they are simply waiting to make the announcement at budget time. Bringing the weak stuff to such an important decision is just playing politics – for the most part, the politics of Obamacare are over. Let’s make it work for Ohio.

Nov 27 2012

Three reasons for states (Ohio) to accept health reform’s Medicaid expansion

As the Kasich Administration decides whether or not to participate in the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, an analyst at the Center for Budget & Policy Priorities provides three essential reasons why saying ‘yes’ would be good public and economic policy. January Angeles of CBPP testified before a New Jersey state senate committee and recaps three points in a blog post today:

State and local spending on health care services for the uninsured would fall because many uninsured residents would have Medicaid coverage, largely financed by the federal government.

The expansion could strengthen New Jersey’s economic recovery. For every $1 that the state spent on the expansion, it would receive $9 from the federal government. That would equal between $9 billion and $11.1 billion in additional federal dollars coming to the state between 2014 and 2019, according to the Urban Institute.

Research shows that people on Medicaid are more likely to get preventive care than people without insurance. Better health care, in turn, leads to better health. “State Medicaid expansions to cover low-income adults were significantly associated with reduced mortality as well as improved coverage, access to care, and self-reported health,” according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Just replace “New Jersey” with “Ohio.”