Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute, along with Ohio’s Senate President Larry Obhof, attended a White House meeting on Wednesday that included legislative leaders from several states as well as nationally-recognized health care policy experts to discuss the concerns and needs of the states on health care reform.

Ohio’s delegation to the meeting included Senator Obhof and Buckeye’s own executive vice president Rea S. Hederman Jr. who were there to request more flexibility from Washington for the states to have more control over managing their own health care. Similar requests had previously been blocked by the Obama Administration.

“Last week, Anthem left 20 Ohio counties without an insurer on the private market. If Obamacare actually worked as promised, insurance companies would not be abandoning these markets. Providing greater flexibility for each state to fix health care for its own population is an idea whose time has indisputably come,” said Hederman, a nationally-recognized health care policy expert. “Senator Obhof has provided tremendous leadership on this issue in Ohio by using the state budget to require Ohio to seek an innovation waiver, and The Buckeye Institute was honored to join him in representing Ohio at the White House.”

Senator Obhof and The Buckeye Institute have both urged the Department of Health and Human Services to grant Ohio a state innovation 1332 waiver, which would enable Ohio to eliminate the individual and employer mandates.

Hederman recently authored an article in The Hill where he reminded readers that no one wants anyone to be uninsured, “but glossing over the problems with health care reform and Medicaid won’t provide people with quality health care,” said Hederman. “Buckeye is proud to be leading the way in calling for bold action from the states in seeking waivers for Medicaid and state innovation and in calling for more flexibility to implement solutions for our citizens.”

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