Committee hears bill to shield ABLE (STABLE) accounts from Medicaid estate recovery and cover fees

The House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee heard sponsor testimony on House Bill 193, a bill to modernize Ohio's ABLE (STABLE) program by aligning state code with federal guidance, exempt certain ABLE account funds from Medicaid estate recovery, and authorize the treasurer of state to pay account fees for Ohio account owners or beneficiaries.

Representative Barnhorst said the proposal would update statutes and indexing, "exempts funds held in the ABLE account from collection under the Ohio Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, aligning our state practices with the intent of the federal law." He told the committee that Ohio administers the STABLE program for 32 other states and is the largest STABLE account operator in the country, and that the bill includes an appropriation to expand outreach and improve ABLE program technology.

The sponsors described two principal components: (1) updating relevant Ohio Revised Code sections to reflect recent federal guidance and to set an inflation‑adjusted exemption level in the Medicaid estate recovery schedule, and (2) directing the treasurer of state to pay account fees for Ohio ABLE owners or beneficiaries to reduce financial barriers to participation. Representative Barnhorst said some families avoid participation because of fees, and the appropriation would offset those fees for Ohio participants.

Representative Brian Lorenz, joint sponsor, gave a personal example: "For my son's ABLE account... that's how we started it. Right? Like a $5.29," describing how a family contribution can become a beneficiary's own asset over time. Committee members asked detailed questions about how the bill interacts with a budget amendment and the scale of the appropriation. Sponsors said the amendment in the budget is the same policy and that there is a companion senate bill; they also said the program's fee offset would be funded by the program's existing multi‑state revenues and that the budget included a $900,000 offset tied to the fee reduction.

Members asked about the mechanics of Medicaid estate recovery and who benefits from exemptions; sponsors deferred to program staff for technical explanations and said the exemption amount had not been adjusted since the program began about 15 years ago. Representative Brandon and Representative Glassburn asked follow‑ups about how the exemption works in practice and whether the state recovers material amounts; sponsors said administrative costs and low recovery rates are part of the ongoing policy conversation and that they were open to amendments to improve the bill.

No formal committee vote was taken; the item concluded as a first hearing with sponsors available for follow‑up and proponents expected for subsequent testimony.