Reforming Medicaid In Ohio: A Framework for Using Consumer Choice and Competition to Spur Improved Outcomes

Ohio’s spending on health care for low-income families, the disabled, and the elderly is enormously expensive. With 2003 direct spending of over $7.5 billion on the state’s Medicaid program, and a combined budget of more than $10 billion, the program costs taxpayers almost $661 per year for every man, woman and child in the state ($2,644 per year for a family of four). Direct Medicaid costs are expected to increase by 66 percent over the next three years.

Mental Health Meddling: The Effects of Mental Health Parity Legislation in Ohio

Mental health parity legislation in Ohio would likely raise premium costs for employers and employees.

The actual beneficiaries from mental health parity legislation would probably be a small group of high-cost users. According to most studies of who uses mental health care, these users would likely be educated, high-income, middle-aged, white, and female.

Research shows that previous mandates enacted in 1993 (including guaranteed renewal, guaranteed issue, limits on pre-existing condition exclusions, and certain premium rate restrictions) could have caused 297,000 more Ohioans to become uninsured.

Medical Savings Accounts: A How To Guide for Ohio Businesses and Employees

Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) were the precursor to today's Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). This study of these early efforts to develop a consumer-driven health care market offers a detailed look into how the tools work, and the logic behind their creation.