Restoring Medicaid Coverage for Parents Pulls 25,000 from Uninsured Population
Securing health care coverage for Ohio’s uninsured population likely will be among the top issues addressed by Ted Strickland as he takes his seat as Ohio’s next governor. The Ohio Family Coverage Coalition, a coalition of OHA and other diverse interest groups working to expand health care coverage for low income families, plans to work with the governor and the legislature to restore Medicaid coverage for parents to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Though it may not solve the problem of Ohio’s 1.3 million uninsured, it will restore coverage for 25,000 people.

History of Medicaid parent coverage
The General Assembly enacted the parent coverage expansion as part of welfare reform in 1999 to stabilize low-income families in the workforce. The number of parents qualifying under the expansion reached 75,000, with almost 90 percent of them working. Most eligible parents work at jobs that pay only $6-9 per hour, have no insurance coverage and need to use their discretionary income on other basic necessities. The Ohio Commission to Reform Medicaid, established to recommend structural reforms and cost containment proposals to the General Assembly for consideration in the 2005 budget session, recommended that parent eligibility and services not be reduced. Despite this recommendation, eligibility fell from 100 percent of the federal poverty level to 90 percent. It dropped from a $16,100 annual income to $14,500 for a family of three. As a result, more than 25,000 parents, most of them employed, lost Medicaid coverage to save an estimated $37 million state dollars over the 2006-2007 biennium. With the state fiscal condition much improved, OHA and the coalition contend eligibility should now be restored to 100 percent.

Impact of maintaining this coverage
Benefit to beneficiaries
This coverage provides vital health care services to parents who may be working in low wage jobs without benefits. It helps ensure that high health care costs do not create a barrier to their success at work and as a parent. Research shows that parents whose mental health needs are met through coverage are better able to meet their children’s behavioral health needs. Covered parents also follow through on enrolling their eligible children in Healthy Start and making sure they receive the health care they need.

Benefit to employers
With health care premiums taking double-digit jumps each year, many employers can no longer afford to carry health care insurance for their employees. Employees with families who are able to receive coverage through Medicaid bring increased morale and productivity into their work environments, reducing absenteeism and turnover.

Benefit to health care providers
Ohio hospitals provided more than $1.1 billion in health care services in 2004 for which they received no payment—a combination of charity care and bad debt. Ohio’s uninsured population is responsible for a large portion of hospitals’ bad debt, and providing health care coverage to parents reduces the amount of uncompensated care required of hospitals. In turn, these savings help keep health care costs lower for all Ohioans.

Benefit to the economy
Parent coverage, like all Medicaid spending, benefits local economies through the economic multiplier effect. Each state dollar spent on Medicaid in Ohio generates $3.15 in economic impact and benefit (including the impact of federal matching funds). Medicaid parents’ coverage also helps keep the number of Ohioans who rely on cash assistance from the state at a minimum. Ohio successfully lowered the caseloads from 263,000 in 1992 to the current 88,000, and access to health care reduces the need to return to cash assistance after a layoff. A family on cash assistance costs the state roughly twice what Medicaid alone costs.

After the lame duck dust settles, OHA and the Ohio Family Coverage Coalition look forward to working with the newly elected governor and legislators on reducing the number of uninsured Ohioans. And providing coverage to 25,000 parents through the state’s Medicaid program would be a good first step.