Turnaround Ohio aims to keep and grow the jobs we have by investing in Ohio’s strengths and bringing the jobs of the future by making sure we have the most educated, capable workforce possible. We know that jobs will stay in Ohio and new jobs will come to this state if we provide a climate where there is access to affordable healthcare options, especially for small businesses.
Ohio’s employers, providers, and consumers are all experiencing the detrimental effects of escalating healthcare costs. There are 1.3 million uninsured in Ohio, many of whom are working full-time. In part because of this high number, health insurance premiums for those Ohioans who do have coverage are increasing at an alarming rate. Our healthcare system also fails to deliver adequate primary care services that could prevent many of the chronic and more costly healthcare conditions currently driving up the cost of care.
While government alone can’t solve these problems, Ted Strickland believes the State of Ohio can play an important role in strengthening our healthcare system and reducing the cost of health care coverage. A Strickland-Fisher Administration will substantially increase the number of Ohioans covered by establishing a free-market clearinghouse for private health insurance plans where all uninsured Ohioans—regardless of income—can purchase coverage at reasonable prices.
Increase the Number of Ohioans with Healthcare
Ohio Healthcare Exchange
A Strickland-Fisher Administration will partner with insurance companies and small businesses to create a marketplace where affordable healthcare plans would be available on a voluntary basis to all uninsured Ohioans who currently do not have access to employer-sponsored insurance. The Ohio Healthcare Exchange will be a free-market exchange for private health plans available to all Ohioans at low prices through the power of group purchasing.
Premium support will be available for the estimated 300,000 Medicaid-ineligible Ohioans making up to 150% of the federal poverty level ($30,000 annually for a family of four).
The benefits of the Exchange will extend well beyond the 1 million uninsured utilizing it. Ohio’s taxpayers and those currently paying health insurance premiums will be positively affected as more Ohioans receive adequate, early care through a primary care physician and no longer enter the emergency room doors to receive uncompensated care. Additionally, because the insurance product resides with the individual, and the Exchange will provide a vehicle for collecting contributions, employers gain an enhanced ability to provide coverage to their employees, especially those who work part-time or as contractors.
A Strickland-Fisher Administration will seek a federal Medicaid 1115 Waiver to permit federal matching on spending to support the investment needed for this initiative. Combined with current state resources, this will generate sufficient funding to cover the cost of the entire program – totaling $550 million over the first two years. This will not take additional tax dollars from Ohio taxpayers, but will simply take advantage of available federal funding that the state of Ohio is not currently pursuing.
A Strickland-Fisher Administration knows that leadership is integral in implementing such a solution and that all stakeholders play a critical role in crafting the details of this innovative approach to covering the uninsured. We are committed to working in a bipartisan way with Ohio’s insurance industry, business community, consumer advocates and provider community to reach a plan that is meaningful to the uninsured, responsible to Ohio’s taxpayers, stable for our insurance market and business climate, and voluntary for individuals and businesses alike.
Reach out to the Uninsured Families and Children Who are Already Eligible for Coverage
Currently, there are approximately 100,000 parents and 150,000 children in Ohio who are already eligible for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) that are not yet signed up. A Strickland-Fisher Administration will aggressively reach out to eligible families and children to make certain that they are covered. As an original cosponsor of legislation that led to creating SCHIP, Ted Strickland recognizes the special importance of healthcare coverage in the early years and will work to provide this coverage to all of Ohio’s eligible children.
Continued Coverage for Ohioans with Severe Disabilities
Currently, Ohioans with severe disabilities are discouraged from becoming employed, because if they do, they will lose their much-needed Medicaid benefits. However, many of these Ohioans do want to work and contribute to Ohio’s economy. Therefore, a Strickland-Fisher Administration will make changes so that Ohioans with severe disabilities have an opportunity to buy into the Medicaid program and continue to receive the specialized healthcare they need while working at a job that pays a living wage.
Initiate Healthy Ohio to Improve the Health of Ohioans and Save State Dollars through Prevention
A Strickland-Fisher Administration will invest in the kind of front-end, preventive care that we know lowers overall healthcare costs and keeps people healthy. In Ohio, many of those most at risk for catastrophic outcomes associated with pregnancy, diabetes, obesity and hypertension enter our system through our emergency rooms. This system short-changes preventive care and neglects wellness. It focuses on treating preventable diseases after they occur, rather than promoting good health up front.
A Strickland-Fisher Administration will launch Healthy Ohio, an initiative to identify duplicative health and social services costs paid for with state dollars and incentivize health contractors to achieve specific health and social service benchmarks. Contracts will be designed that focus on prevention for those Ohioans most at risk, using early intervention to change the course of life as well as save dollars for the state.
While we look to providers to play an integral role in ensuring those most at risk receive critical preventive care, we know that practitioners cannot do it alone. Individuals must also take responsibility for their own health. A Strickland-Fisher Administration will challenge Ohio’s families to play a role in Healthy Ohio by taking a larger responsibility in the healthcare decision-making process, focusing on preventive care and making appropriate, educated lifestyle choices.
Support Nursing Faculty to Fill Nursing Shortage
While we recognize there are several reasons for Ohio’s nursing shortage, one of the most challenging problems is the lack of nursing faculty in place to educate and train new nurses.
If current trends continue, in the year 2020 there will be 29% too few registered nurses practicing in Ohio. Yet at the same time, nursing educational programs are denying admission to over three thousand qualified applicants each year because nursing schools in Ohio lack trained clinical faculty.
Nursing has long served as a hub with which many other healthcare disciplines interact in order to maximize overall consumer outcomes, and we can no longer afford to have too few nurses on healthcare’s front lines. The Strickland-Fisher Healthy Ohio initiative will work with Ohio’s healthcare and higher education communities to address the shortage of nurses by making clinical faculty jobs more competitive, and offering salary and other incentives to encourage trained clinical faculty to stay in Ohio and teach.
Improve Quality and Save Dollars through Ohio NextGen
The Strickland-Fisher Broadband Ohio proposal will expand access to quality broadband in every corner of Ohio and, in the process, create a competitive, well-connected economy in Ohio.
One extremely important benefit of the Broadband Ohio proposal will be the impact this next generation broadband access will have on the healthcare community.
A Strickland-Fisher administration will be dedicated to establishing a virtual space for health research, development, and care, putting Ohio’s healthcare institutions at the forefront of new information technologies and delivery systems. These include the use of electronic medical records, “real time” telemedicine, and other communication innovations. The presence of such a dedicated network will position Ohio companies well to compete for new federal programs devoted to the development of new healthcare information technologies.
The benefits of such technological capabilities are widespread including increased efficiencies, stabilizing healthcare costs, healthy outcomes, and enhanced delivery of care to currently underserved populations.
Conclusion
A Strickland-Fisher Administration will provide leadership for:
• Large and small businesses in Ohio who, in growing numbers, are expressing concern that the healthcare system in its current state is bad for business
• Healthcare providers, who must absorb the cost of providing services to a vast and growing number of uninsured individuals and families
• Consumers of medical care, who must navigate the healthcare system’s complexities and pay ever-increasing premiums
• The vast and growing number of hard-working Ohioans who cannot afford even basic healthcare for themselves and their families.