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Senara Health urges $750,000 amendment to HB 96 to pilot remote-observation take‑home methadone
Summary
Senara Health asked the House Children and Human Services Committee to fund a remote-observation pilot for take‑home methadone—$750,000 per fiscal year to support up to 10 opioid treatment programs—citing transportation barriers, SAMHSA take‑home flexibilities, and early local cost‑savings data.
Sheba Ibidouni, vice president of operations at Senara Health, asked the committee to add an amendment to House Bill 96 to fund a remote-observation pilot for take‑home methadone at $750,000 per fiscal year. The pilot would support up to 10 opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in Ohio and collect data on patient outcomes, treatment retention, and cost savings, Senara said.
Remote observation uses an asynchronous video check: patients scan a QR code on a tamper‑aware label and record themselves taking medication; the care team reviews the video later. Ibidouni told the committee that the approach can reduce transportation barriers that lead to treatment dropout and noted that “in 2024, SAMHSA made permanent the take home flexibilities of the COVID‑19 pandemic,” a change Ohio adopted on Jan. 31. She cited the 2023 Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey finding that 32 percent of Ohioans reported transportation as a barrier to drug treatment.
Ibidouni also read a patient testimonial from Kimberly Maxwell of Dayton: “The scenario program has been the difference between me being able to be in recovery program or not. The ride service I was using to get to Medmark daily quit. I didn't have any way to get there besides the bus… I only have to go to the clinic once a week.” Senara said preliminary data from a small six‑program Ohio pilot (funded in part by CareSource and Ohio Department of Medicaid transformation grants) indicate reductions in non‑emergency medical transportation use and related cost savings, which Senara said could make the pilot cost neutral.
Senara proposed the $750,000 per fiscal year amendment to fund up to 10 OTPs and said the study would track measures including time in treatment, retention, and avoided transportation costs. No committee action was taken during the hearing.
The committee may weigh the proposal against existing SAMHSA and Ohio Medicaid rules, OTP capacity, and the state's broader behavioral‑health funding priorities.
