Letter: Athens County will be hit hard by health care bill

In the increasingly murky national debate on health care, it can be hard to see exactly what effect the Senate health care bill would have in Ohio. Both the Senate’s health care bill and the previously-passed House proposal would make dramatic funding cuts to Medicaid, greatly impacting residents of Athens County.

Medicaid pays 1 out of every 4 dollars spent on health care in Ohio, but it plays an even bigger role in rural communities like Athens, where 25 percent of adults get their coverage through Medicaid. Under the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), the rate of uninsured Ohioans dropped dramatically, from 11 to 6.5 percent between 2013-2015. Most of this new coverage came through Medicaid expansion.