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Back to all News ReleasesOctober 19, 2017 (Cleveland)The Center Facilitates Lawmaker Meetings, Talks Medicaid Cuts and Regional Economy
Over the course of the past month, The Center for Health Affairs facilitated a number of lawmaker meetings with representatives from Northeast Ohio to discuss the impact of Ohio’s recently passed biennium budget. Embedded in Ohio’s biennial state budget were several provisions that have the ability to directly affect hospital providers, including drastic cuts to the Ohio Medicaid program. The purpose of the regional lawmaker meetings was to inform local legislators of the economic impact the cuts would have on the region, both in terms of revenue and employment.
As part of the discussion, The Center provided legislators with its recently released 2017 Hospital Fact Sheet. The annual publication highlights how Northeast Ohio benefits from its robust healthcare economy, with a specific focus on the regional impact of hospitals on the economy in terms of community benefit, tax payments and total employment. Based on this year’s figures and the impending cuts to reimbursement, The Center and its members estimate that the region stands to lose tens of millions of dollars from the state’s Medicaid program beginning next year. Many believe these cuts will have a devastating effect on the region’s local economy, both in terms of employment and taxes collected.
Moving forward, The Center will continue to facilitate regional lawmaker meetings to stress the importance of sustained funding for healthcare services in the region, in hopes that a solution to the reduction in reimbursement will be reached by the end of the year.
Contact us to learn more about past meetings or to participate in future lawmaker meetings.