A State/Federal Partnership to Keep Ohio’s Medicaid Plans Strong
Without a doubt, Medicaid is facing difficult days ahead. The joint federal/state program that provides health coverage to more than 81 million Americans, 3 million of them in Ohio, is subject to significant funding cuts and new eligibility restrictions in the recently passed federal tax and spending bill.
This means serious challenges for OAHP’s eight-member Medicaid managed care plans and the vulnerable people they serve. In these tough circumstances, we’re especially glad to announce our new partnership: OAHP is now a state affiliate of Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA), the nation’s leading association representing Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs).
Just as OAHP engages with state lawmakers and regulators to represent the interests of plans and patients in policymaking at the state level, MHPA does this important work in both the federal and state arenas, making them an ideal partner. The unique federal/state nature of Medicaid makes it necessary to understand what’s happening at both levels, but state associations like OAHP haven’t traditionally had the bandwidth to stay perfectly on top of federal policy developments.
As an MHPA affiliate member, OAHP will benefit from regular meetings to learn, not just what’s happening federally, but how colleagues in other states are innovating in response to the challenges all Medicaid MCOs face. We believe it’s going to make OAHP far more helpful to its member plans.
And MHPA leaders are eager to understand more about the workings of state-level Medicaid programs, to be able to share one state’s successes as a model for others.
The state affiliate program is new for MHPA, and OAHP is one of only five state associations invited to help launch the initiative. It’s good company to be in, just as Ohio can be proud of its innovative approach to Medicaid. OAHP and MHPA worked together last year on a campaign to raise awareness of the value of Medicaid-provided managed long-term services and supports; we’re looking forward to more such collaborations. Angela is slated to speak at MHPA’s annual conference in September about some of OAHP’s work with its member plans on community reinvestment and quality withhold plans — projects not every state association takes on.
The challenges posed by the federal bill are significant. Removal of about $1 trillion from the program will necessitate steep cuts at the federal level. Meanwhile, states are facing a hit to their ability to pay their share while also working to implement the policy changes laid out in the bill.
While the work ahead seems daunting, we’re determined to do our part to help MCOs across the country surmount the challenges, and we’re confident that our new partnership will be an invaluable aid.
