OHA Advocacy Network

Advocacy Alert • Monday, April 9, 2007

Action Needed NOW to Preserve Important Budget Issues

While most state lawmakers are in spring recess, work continues this week on the state budget. The House Finance Committee will continue working over the break on its version of the state’s $52.9 billion biennial budget bill, House Bill 119, sponsored by Rep. Matt Dolan (R-Novelty), and now is the time for hospitals to make their voices heard if we are to have an impact on the bill in the House of Representatives.

A Budget to Support

The state budget as proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland is the most positive budget for Ohio hospitals in several years.

ü All hospitals will receive a 3.3 percent Medicaid update starting Jan. 1, 2008, and a 2.9 percent update in 2009.

ü It expands Medicaid eligibility, providing health care benefits to:

ü parents earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty line, covering an additional 25,000 adults who currently lack coverage;

ü pregnant women earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line, covering an additional 3,800 women who currently lack coverage;

ü children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line, covering an additional 26,000 children who currently lack coverage;

OHA is also coordinating a strategic and targeted effort at promoting Medicaid reimbursement updates for rural obstetrics, urban adult trauma centers, and public hospitals and cost-based reimbursement for critical access hospitals.

What can you do?

The competition for dollars is intense and all dollars are vulnerable. If legislators do not hear from you, the Medicaid update directed at hospitals will be directed to other programs. Take just a few minutes to help further the budget advocacy efforts of Ohio hospitals:

§ Create a letter to your state representative asking his or her support of the budget. OHA has drafted template letters that you can use to help create a letter of your own. We’ve also drafted targeted sample letters for those who wish to emphasize key budget issues, such as OHA’s efforts to have funds allocated for rural obstetrics and urban trauma care. View the template letters.

§ Call your legislator. A two-minute call to your state representative’s office, usually speaking to an aide, will go far in furthering hospitals’ budget efforts. Find the office number for your state representative.

Now is also the perfect time to invite your legislator to tour your hospital and meet with members of your management team and board. The State Budget section of the OHA Web site contains comprehensive talking points and other budget related information.

The Budget Timeline

Human Services Subcommittee Chairman Jimmy Stewart (R-Athens) intends to conclude hearings by mid- April.

Leaders of the House Finance Committee hope that a substitute bill, incorporating changes made by various subcommittees over the past several weeks, will be ready for a committee and full House vote the first week of May.

OHA is requesting that members of the OHA Advocacy Network whose state representative sits on the full House Finance Committee contact their elected officials between April 10-17 and urge their support of the Medicaid inpatient update and Medicaid coverage expansions.

Please contact bridgetg@ohanet.org with questions.

Not a Member of the Advocacy Network?

Being a member of the OHA Advocacy Network provides you access to information on government activity and assists the hospital industry in sending unified messages to elected officials. If you are not a current member, you can easily join on-line. Join today to start reaping the benefits of being a member of the OHA Advocacy Network.

The OHA Advocacy Network is a service of the Ohio Hospital Association, 155 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215-3620, 614-221-7614, 614-221-4771 (fax)

Visit us on the Web at: www.ohanet.org

Direct questions on OHA’s advocacy agenda to:

Bridget Gargan, Vice President, State Policy & Advocacy (bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Jeff Klingler, Director, State Policy & Advocacy (jeffk@ohanet.org)

Jean Scholz, RN, Director, Health Policy (jeans@ohanet.org)

Rick Sites, General Counsel (ricks@ohanet.org)

Stacey Conrad, Specialist, State Policy & Advocacy (staceyc@ohanet.org)

Jonathan Archey, Manager, Federal Relations (jonathana@ohanet.org)

Laura Landis, Executive Assistant, State Policy & Advocacy (laural@ohanet.org)