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Providers say OhioRISE is reducing hospital use for youth; urge continued funding
Summary
Care managers, providers and nonprofit leaders told the Senate Medicaid subcommittee that OhioRISE — the state's specialized Medicaid program for youth with complex behavioral needs — has reduced emergency department visits and hospital stays and that continued investment would expand community‑based care and save money.
Leaders from OhioRISE care management entities and community providers told the Senate Medicaid subcommittee that the state's OhioRISE program is producing measurable reductions in costly emergency and inpatient care for youth with complex behavioral health needs and asked lawmakers to sustain and expand funding.
Mark Meekum, CEO of the Ohio Children's Alliance, said OhioRISE established standards and a coordinated infrastructure that had been lacking. He said, "OhioRISE has cultivated a network of hundreds of health care provider organizations that are all rowing in the same direction to improve outcomes for multisystem youth." Meekum noted early results showing fewer acute episodes and greater local treatment capacity.
Multiple witnesses cited a first‑year progress snapshot: 41% fewer emergency department visits, 28% fewer psychiatric hospitalizations and stays that are 60% shorter for OhioRISE participants. Jody Harding of Talbot House and Corey D'Ambrosio of Integrated Services offered local case examples in which care coordination, intensive home‑based treatment and mobile crisis services stabilized youth and helped families avoid out‑of‑home placement.
"OhioRISE care teams surround families with guidance and support to build a plan and see it through," said Corey D'Ambrosio, describing a client whose medication access and transport barriers were resolved through coordinated supports, which allowed the youth to remain at home and the parent to return to work.
Witnesses asked the subcommittee to continue funding care‑management entities, expand workforce investments and support the program's evolving value‑based and community‑aligned service array. Speakers described OhioRISE as still in early implementation but urged continuing momentum to expand access statewide.
No formal vote occurred; the committee received written materials and data and asked for further outcome reports and fiscal analysis from program administrators.
