02/28/2017

Governor’s Biennial Budget Introduced in the House

Gov. Kasich’s proposed budget would keep Medicaid expansion, tweak OARRS

Gov. John Kasich has unveiled his final biennial budget proposal as Ohio’s Governor. Introduced as House Bill 49, work on the budget proposal will dominate the first half of 2017 as legislators work to adopt a budget before the June 30 deadline.

The Governor’s budget would continue to fund expansion of Medicaid authorized by the Affordable Care Act, despite federal uncertainty about the fate of the health law. Gov. Kasich’s budget also proposes assessing premiums of up to $20 per month for some Medicaid recipients.

Other healthcare-related provisions of interest include:

• Expanding OARRS access to drug court judges
• Authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to provide a prescriber with a summary of their own prescribing record from OARRS
• Authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to provide the Department of Medicaid with records of requests for OARRS information made by a prescriber who treated a Medicaid recipient
• Extending the period for which the Board of Pharmacy must retain information in OARRS to five years—or longer if needed to serve an investigatory or public health purpose
• Repealing several hospital reporting requirements, including number of emergency department visits
• Repealing a healthcare transparency law currently being challenged in court by the Ohio State Medical Association, the Ohio Hospital Association, and other organizations

As budget activity heats up, be on the lookout for updates in future issues of the Advocacy Update!