Fact Check: Ohio Senate budget eliminates Medicaid waiver for critical child health care
What We Know
The claim that the Ohio Senate budget eliminates a Medicaid waiver for critical child health care is based on various reports and legislative documents. According to a budget update from August 2023, the Ohio Senate's budget does include provisions for Medicaid, with appropriations totaling $41.40 billion in FY 2024 and $44.50 billion in FY 2025. This represents increases of 5.1% and 7.5%, respectively. However, the same document also mentions new initiatives aimed at ensuring continuous Medicaid coverage for children aged 0-3, which suggests that not all Medicaid waivers are being eliminated.
Moreover, an article from the Ohio Capital Journal indicates that the budget cuts programs that support low-income families and critical health care for infants and young children, including a Medicaid waiver. This aligns with concerns raised by advocates about the potential negative impacts of the budget on child health care access.
Analysis
The evidence surrounding the claim is mixed. On one hand, the official budget documents indicate that while there are increases in Medicaid funding, there are also cuts to specific programs that could affect health care access for children. The Ohio Capital Journal provides a critical perspective, highlighting that the budget "guts efforts" to support child health care, which implies that certain Medicaid waivers may be at risk.
However, the budget update from the Ohio Department of Medicaid suggests that there are new provisions aimed at expanding coverage for young children, which complicates the narrative of a complete elimination of Medicaid waivers. The Policy Matters Ohio report also discusses broader budget cuts that could affect various health programs, but it does not specifically confirm the elimination of the Medicaid waiver in question.
The reliability of the sources varies. The budget documents from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (source-1) and the Ohio Department of Medicaid (source-2) are official documents, which generally provide reliable information. In contrast, the Ohio Capital Journal (source-4) is a news outlet that may have a particular editorial stance, which could influence the framing of the information.
Conclusion
The claim that the Ohio Senate budget eliminates the Medicaid waiver for critical child health care is not straightforward and requires further research. While there are indications of cuts to programs that support child health care, there are also new provisions aimed at expanding Medicaid coverage for young children. Therefore, the overall impact of the budget on Medicaid waivers is unclear and needs more in-depth investigation.
