Ted Strickland

Expanding Quality Health Care for Ohioans

Even in tough financial times, Governor Strickland has maintained his commitment to the goal of access to health insurance for all Ohioans. Governor Strickland signed a budget that helps ensure access to affordable healthcare for all Ohio children and is working to make that happen.  In addition, Governor Strickland has introduced important reforms that will expand access to healthcare to an additional 109,000 uninsured Ohio adults.

Governor Strickland's health care reforms include:

• Allowing children up to 28 years of age to be covered by their parents’ insurance.  The reforms allow parents to purchase coverage for their children up to 28 and will give 20,000 more Ohioans access to healthcare. Governor Strickland vetoed an attempt to water down this expansion that would have required children to have been continuously covered under an insurance plan since reaching the limiting age of their parents’ plan.  
• Reducing price discrimination for pre-existing conditions. Governor Strickland capped the amount insurance companies could charge Ohioans with pre-existing conditions to 1.5 times the lowest rate charged someone of the same gender and similar age. Insurance premiums for those with pre-existing conditions are expected to be reduced by more than 50%.
• Increasing access to health care by expanding open enrollment. The Ohio Department of Insurance estimates that Governor Strickland’s reforms of the open enrollment process will expand access to health care to 52,000 additional Ohioans.
• Reducing premiums with pre-tax purchase options. Governor Strickland’s reforms require employers with more than ten employees to offer uninsured employees the opportunity to purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars. These plans would save employees and families up to 40% on the cost of coverage by reducing income taxes. The Ohio Department of Insurance estimates that this reform will help 37,000 more Ohioans have access to health insurance.
• Covering more expectant mothers. The plan expands coverage for pregnant women by increasing the Medicaid threshold from 150% of the federal poverty level to 200%, covering an estimated 3,800 additional women.
• Expanding the number of children with access to health insurance. Governor Strickland passed a budget to give every Ohio child access to healthcare – a plan that is currently being implemented. The measures expand eligibility for SCHIP and implement a buy-in program so that parents of children that are not eligible for SCHIP can contribute.  
• Extending Medicaid coverage to more Ohio parents. By moving the income threshold from 90% to 100% of the federal poverty level,  the plan extends Medicaid coverage to an estimated 25,000 more Ohio parents living in poverty
• Providing more health insurance coverage for the recently unemployed. Governor Strickland’s reforms expand “Continuation Coverage,” also referred to as Ohio’s “Mini-COBRA,” to cover any job loss, as long as the employee did not willingly terminate their employment or lose the job through misconduct.  Governor Strickland also extended the duration of coverage from 6 months to 12 months.