Data Graphics

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new Ohio Medicaid Basics update titled “Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Provision.”

Earlier this year, states that accepted additional federal Medicaid funding during the pandemic began unwinding the requirement that all Medicaid enrollees receive continuous coverage until the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The brief details the Ohio process and provides analysis of how unwinding has impacted Medicaid enrollment.

As of October 2023, 74% of enrollees with completed renewals are still eligible for Medicaid and have retained their coverage, while 19% were disenrolled for procedural reasons (e.g., the renewal process was not completed) and 7% were found ineligible for Medicaid, as illustrated above. The Ohio Department of Medicaid found that, in July 2023, more than half (53%) of the enrollees who were disenrolled for procedural reasons were identified as likely ineligible for Medicaid coverage, according to analysis from third-party vendor Public Consulting Group.

Ohio Medicaid enrollment increased gradually from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to March 2023 but decreased by 259,670 enrollees from March to October 2023, including 73,225 children and 186,445 adults.

In Ohio, the process of reviewing enrollee eligibility and returning to the standard eligibility determination process is expected to conclude in March 2024.

For more information about Ohio Medicaid, including enrollment and spending during the pandemic, see Ohio Medicaid Basics 2023.

HPIO has released a new policy brief that explores the impact of parental criminal justice involvement on the health, safety and well-being of children and families in Ohio.

The brief is the latest in a series of HPIO publications on the connections between criminal justice and health.

The new brief explores the generational cycle of justice involvement, illustrated above.

“Incarceration of a household member is an adverse childhood experience (ACE) that can cause serious and long-lasting health and economic harms across generations and for individuals, families and communities,” the brief states. “These harms include increased likelihood of children becoming involved in the justice system.”

At the same time, according to the brief, “Children need to grow up in safe communities, free from crime and violence, requiring a balance between community safety, family stability and child well-being in Ohio’s criminal justice policies.”

The brief includes a collection of evidence-informed policy options that leaders across the state can act on to prevent and mitigate the impacts of parental justice involvement on children and families.

Funding for HPIO’s Criminal Justice and Health project was provided by the Ohio State Bar Foundation and HPIO’s core funders.

In just a few days, Ohio State will face that team up north in The Game.

Once again this year, OSU and Michigan are neck-and-neck in the College Football Playoff rankings, with the Buckeyes holding a slight edge.

On health value, though, Michigan ranks better than Ohio. HPIO’s 2023 Health Value Dashboard found that Ohioans spend more on healthcare and have worse health outcomes than Michiganders.

So how can the Buckeye state improve?

Just like in football, teamwork, focus and hard work pay off. We all need to work together to improve health by building on Ohio’s many assets. Ohio can:

• Support and strengthen the workforce, leveraging recent success in attracting employers in high-growth industries
• Foster mental well-being by supporting resilience and recovery across the state
• Reinvigorate approaches to improving outcomes and controlling unnecessary healthcare spending

If leaders in the public and private sector work together, Ohio can be a national leader in health value, just like the Buckeyes are on the football field.

New analysis from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that the number of firearm-involved deaths among Ohio children increased sharply in recent years, as illustrated above.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Health’s Ohio Public Health Data Warehouse, there were 104 deaths involving a firearm of children ages 0-17 in Ohio in 2022, or a rate of 4.05 deaths per 100,000 children. That is more than double the rate of 2007, when the death rate was 1.76 per 100,000 Ohio children.

What Works for Health, an online tool developed by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute to identify evidence-informed health policies, includes a number of potential options that local and state leaders can consider to increase firearm safety for children.

Last month, HPIO released a new Data Snapshot that highlights the prevalence in Ohio of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood.

Exposure to ACEs —is a pervasive problem affecting many children in Ohio and across the country. ACEs exposure contributes to poor health and well-being throughout life, including disrupted neurodevelopment, social and emotional challenges, disease, disability and premature death.

The analysis found that the risk for developing poor health outcomes associated with ACEs increases in proportion to the number of ACEs to which a person is exposed. For example, as illustrated above, Ohioans who have been exposed to two or more ACES are almost twice as likely to report being a current smoker than people who did not experience any ACEs.

Starting in 2020, HPIO released a series of policy briefs on the health and economic impacts of ACEs and elevated 12 evidence-informed, cost-effective strategies (program, policies and practices) that can prevent ACEs.

In May, HPIO released the fifth edition of its biennial Health Value Dashboard. The 2023 Dashboard found that Ohio ranks 44th in the nation in health value, a combination of population health and healthcare spending. This means that Ohioans are less healthy and spend more on health care than people in most other states.

The Dashboard identified specific areas of strength on which Ohio can build to create opportunities for improved health value in the state. One of those areas is strengthening Ohio’s workforce and reducing poverty by building upon recent success in attracting employers in high-growth industries.

Ohio’s workforce is facing serious challenges. As illustrated below, deaths among working-age Ohioans have increased over the last 15 years as labor force participation continues its long-term decline, with Ohio falling behind most other states (For more information, see HPIO’s updated data snapshot “Death Trends among Working-age Ohioans”).

However, the state’s strong manufacturing base, strategic location and educational infrastructure has attracted major employers, such as Intel, Honda, Ford and LG Energy Solutions, to invest in the state in the past few years. Ohio is home to 200 corporate headquarters, 14 public universities and 23 community colleges. Further building upon these strengths can lead to a robust workforce that meets the needs of employers, re-invigorates local communities and increase earnings, which will, in turn, reduce poverty and improve health.