OHA Advocacy Network

Advocacy Alert • Thursday, May 17, 2007

Action Needed NOW to Preserve Important Budget Issues

The Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee is in discussions 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 preserve the positive hospital-related issues in the bill in the Senate.

A Budget to Support

The state budget is the most positive budget for Ohio hospitals in several years. The bill as passed by the House of Representatives included the following:

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 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;

Issues for the Senate

OHA is 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. OHA is also working to restore Medicaid eligibility to working parents earning up to 100% of the federal poverty level, covering an additional 25,000 working adults.

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 senator 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 senator. 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 senator.

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

Now that the Ohio House of Representatives unanimously passed the 2008-2009 state budget, the Senate is in budget discussions and is expected to wrap up action by June 12. After the Senate approves its version of the budget, a House and Senate conference committee will then reconcile differences between the two versions and pass it along to the Governor for final approval by June 30.

OHA is requesting that members of the OHA Advocacy Network whose state senator sits on the full Senate Finance & Financial Institutions contact their elected officials before June 1 and urge their support of the Medicaid inpatient update, targeted increases for vulnerable service 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)