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Committee hears updates to Ohio ABLE/STABLE accounts, including estate‑recovery exemption and fee coverage
Summary
Sponsors told the House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee that House Bill 193 would update Ohio's ABLE/STABLE program: exempt certain ABLE funds from Medicaid estate recovery (with an inflation‑adjusted exemption) and direct the treasurer to pay account fees; sponsors cited outreach and a $900,000 appropriation to offset fees.
The House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee held a first hearing on House Bill 193, which sponsors said would modernize Ohio's ABLE/STABLE program by protecting some account balances from Medicaid estate recovery and by removing fee barriers for participants.
Representative Barnhorst, a sponsor, told the committee Ohio was an early adopter of the federal ABLE program and currently administers the STABLE program that other states use. "We are the largest STABLE account in the country," Barnhorst said, and HB 193 would update Ohio law to align with recent federal guidance.
Two principal changes sponsors described are (1) adjusting and exempting ABLE account funds from the Ohio Medicaid Estate Recovery Program in a manner tied to inflation, and (2) directing the treasurer of state to pay account fees on behalf of Ohio ABLE account owners or beneficiaries to lower participation barriers. Barnhorst said the bill includes an appropriation to support fee offsets.
Co‑sponsor Representative Lawrence gave personal testimony about his son's participation in the program and said expanded outreach and improved technology would increase access for underserved and rural Ohioans. "The benefits of the program have been really transformative and instrumental in his success," Lawrence said.
Committee members sought operational detail about how Medicaid estate recovery interacts with ABLE accounts, who would benefit from exemptions after a beneficiary's death, and whether administrative costs outweigh recoveries; sponsors deferred to program staff for that level of detail and said proponents could present additional testimony.
A committee member noted the budget already contains an offset related to the policy and referenced a $900,000 appropriation intended to cover fee offsets for participants; sponsors said those fiscal impacts have been factored into budget planning.
Representative Brennan raised a broader fiscal point in questioning, saying in his research the state recovers about 1% of Medicaid expenditures through estate recovery and asking whether broader asset exemptions would be appropriate; sponsors said they were open to conversations about amendments but preferred to explain operational details in proponent testimony.
The committee took no final action on HB 193 during the session; sponsors and committee staff said administrators and proponents would supply more technical and operational information in subsequent testimony.
