Ohio Medicaid Ends Year Under Budget

(July 7, 2016) Ohio Medicaid has ended the current fiscal year $1.3 billion under budget according to a new report released by the Office of Health Transformation.

Approximately three million Ohioans were enrolled during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 (SFY 2016), more than 32,000 people below projections.  Enrollment in the Medicaid expansion category was 26,000 people above the original estimate, but that increase was offset by below-projection numbers in traditional enrollment, which was 58,000 people below estimate.

The shift in enrollment has occurred as the Ohio economy improves and Medicaid enrollees move up and out of the traditional program into the higher-income expansion group, and as a result of a new and more accurate eligibility system that automatically verifies income, assigns enrollees to the correct eligibility category, and moves people off the program as their financial situation improves. As a result, SFY 2016 Ohio Medicaid spending was $1.3 billion below the original budget estimate enacted by the Ohio General Assembly.

Medicaid expansion, which Gov. John Kasich started in January 2014 now includes more than 650,000 adults,  That group is 100 percent federally funded, as provided for in the Accountable Care Act, although the state will will be required to coverage 5 percent of the cost starting in January.
 
Read the report http://medicaid.ohio.gov/Portals/0/Resources/Reports/Caseload/2016/06-Caseload.pdf