Cutting coverage would be costly
The Saturday Dispatch article “Retreat on Medicaid may fuel drug crisis” reported that Ohio House Rep. Wesley A. Goodman, R-Cardington, has proposed a budget amendment to freeze enrollment in the highly successful Medicaid expansion to more than 700,000 individuals. This freeze would remove newly eligible individuals’ ability to obtain Medicaid or prevent those individuals who drop off the rolls the ability to return.
As a reminder, this expansion has provided access to critical services such as primary care, preventative screenings, prenatal care, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health noted that the overwhelming majority of newly enrolled Medicaid members in Ohio qualified because they didn’t have private health insurance, lost their private insurance due to unemployment, or weren’t eligible for their employer’s health plan. In other words, these individuals have nothing else to turn to and often face medical bankruptcy, long-term debilitation, or death without Medicaid coverage.
Sadly, this amendment is proposed under the guise of saving the state $7.8 million, or approximately 0.03 percent of the program’s cost. Yes, that represents pennies in savings in exchange for thousands of Ohioans left once again without essential health care. Currently, Ohio faces a declining middle class; a workforce ravaged by chronic diseases, disability and opioid addiction; and some of the highest rates of infant mortality, preventable hospitalizations and drug deaths in the country.
Many of the state’s community health clinics and small, rural hospitals are at the front lines of addressing these issues and have survived closure because individuals previously unable to pay for care are now covered by Medicaid. The repercussions from an expansion freeze will certainly exceed the $7.8 million saved.
This is a critical time for Ohio’s leadership to be innovative and strategic in how it addresses our citizens’ vast health needs. Taking away health insurance from more Ohioans is the exact opposite of good policy and what our legislators should be doing to make Ohio healthier and work-ready.
While legislating healthinsurance coverage is not the sole solution, the state’s funding of basic coverage is an investment. The growth of Ohio’s economy starts with a healthy workforce.
Allison Russo Upper Arlington