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Witnesses urge changes to Medicaid trigger language, warn of immediate loss of coverage for hundreds of thousands
Summary
Multiple witnesses at the Ohio House Medicaid Committee hearing urged lawmakers to remove or soften a budget 'trigger' that would end Medicaid expansion immediately if the federal matching rate falls, saying the move would cut coverage for roughly 700,000–770,000 Ohioans and strain hospitals, employers and the care workforce.
Chairwoman Gross and members of the Ohio House Medicaid Committee heard repeated pleas from health care providers, patient advocates and people who rely on Medicaid to drop or revise a provision in the proposed state budget that would automatically end Medicaid expansion if the federal matching rate (FMAP) for that population falls below 90%.
Advocates said the language in House Bill 96 would result in mass, immediate coverage loss with broad economic and health consequences. “The Center for Community Solutions estimates that 770,000 people in Ohio will immediately lose coverage if the federal match ends,” said Dr. Jules Vitaglia of the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, who called the provision a ‘‘seismic level shift in coverage.’’
Witne…
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