The federal government has rejected a plan proposed by state lawmakers to require about a million Ohio Medicaid recipients to pay premiums for their coverage.
The “Healthy Ohio” program would have allowed the state to charge some Medicaid participants premiums of up to $99 annually and suspend coverage for non-pregnant recipients who don’t pay. Former state Medicaid director John Corlett now heads the Center for Community Solutions, which had offered input against the plan. “One of the things that they pointed out that we had pointed out in our comments was the negative impact on low-income parents, on youth in foster care, and beneficiaries with breast and cervical cancer,” Corlett said.
Supporters said the plan would get recipients more fully involved in their own care by also rewarding them for healthy lifestyle choices and avoiding non-emergency hospital visits. Corlett said he wants to work with lawmakers on lowering costs and increasing patient engagement.
