Ohio health insurance coverage

Ohio State bill would extend Ohio health insurance coverage

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Ohio State bill would extend Ohio health insurance coverage October 8, 2008 Columbus - A bill that could reshape the future of Ohio health insurance coverage - and affect the household budgets of middle-class Ohioans - was unveiled by House Republicans Tuesday. The wide-ranging proposal would require insurance companies to offer coverage to dependents up to age 29 and create a pool of high-risk people whose insurance would be subsidized by the state. The legislation would also help small businesses provide coverage for workers through discounts on workers' compensation premiums. The high-risk pool would help thousands of Ohioans like Kevin Koelliker of Cleveland, who appeared at a news conference Tuesday where the proposal was announced. Koelliker described health insurance premiums that skyrocketed from $690 a month to $1,800 a month when the insurance he had under his previous employer lapsed. The issue for insurers: Koelliker had suffered a heart attack, and his wife had been diagnosed with lupus. "So the underwriter for the insurance carrier was basically saying, You're doomed," Koelliker said. "It was either pay or you have nothing." The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jim Raussen, a Cincinnati-area Republican, and is expected to be moved by majority-party House Republicans. It follows a series of meetings across the state by the House Health Care Access and Affordability Committee, which Raussen chairs. The result was a bill embracing a range of ideas - from banning trans fats from food served at schools to providing tax credits to people below the poverty line who aren't eligible for Medicaid. The bill also would define charitable care for nonprofit hospitals more tightly than hospital groups would prefer. One huge stumbling block: the price tag, which Raussen estimated at $150 million in the first year, rising $450 million to $500 million annually, if the whole bill were enacted. The state is expected to soon face a budget hole ranging from $733 million to $1.9 billion over the next 18 months. Raussen offered no specific plan to pay for it, but said the bill isn't intended to take effect until the next budget cycle that begins in July 2009. "We're trying to be forward-thinking here and be realistic about what the state can do under its current conditions," he said. Reaction from business groups as well as a broad consumer coalition dedicated to overhauling Ohio's health care system was positive. "Rep. Raussen's leadership today is commendable," said Ron Bridges, a member of the Ohio Consumers for Health Coverage. "OCHC concurs that health care reform must involve making both health insurance and health care itself affordable." The bill, which isn't as far-reaching as a universal health care coverage proposal floated by minority-party Democrats, is expected to run into opposition from the powerful Ohio Hospital Association. The package is sure to be the subject of a fierce lobbying battle involving hospitals, insurers, managed health care organizations and consumer groups. Another ingredient in the health care reform stew: An advisory committee set up by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland that has been meeting regularly with the goal of figuring out how to best cover an additional 500,000 adult Ohioans by 2011. Recommendations from that group aren't expected for at least several more months, but are likely to compete with Raussen's plan as lawmakers decide what to move forward on. "There may be some overlap, there may be some very different results," said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman. "It remains to be seen." Reference: http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/01/state_bill_would_extend_health.html