Ohio Senate budget would deepen disinvestment
Instead of improving a deeply flawed budget bill passed by the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio Senate is moving toward approval today of a bill that deepens disinvestment in Ohio’s people and communities. The Senate would force the Medicaid director to seek approval from the federal government to impose premiums on even the poorest […]
Undocumented workers remain protected in Workers’ Compensation Budget
After receiving pressure from advocates and concerned citizens, today the Ohio Senate Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee struck a measure from Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Budget bill that would have put workers and businesses at risk. Workers Compensation was established so that injured workers could get the medical treatment they need and to replace […]
State budget further erodes crucial public services
If the pending 2018-2019 state budget passes, Ohioans may be frustrated to find fewer well-stocked fishing holes or outdated reference materials at the state library. People filing tax appeals complaints might need to wait a while. The budget starves small but important state agencies, according to a new Policy Matters Ohio report that examines operational […]
Testimony: Medicaid – Barriers to care in the operating budget
Testimony before the Senate Finance Committee (House Bill 49) Policy Matters Ohio’s Wendy Patton today delivered a statement to the Senate Finance Committee on House Bill 49, asking to protect the Medicaid expansion, but without barriers to care: work requirements and premiums. “Some say premiums are needed for Medicaid services so low-income enrollees have some […]
Federal budget threatens Ohio communities and families
Funds that help low- and moderate-income families slated for elimination President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget would cut grants in aid to states by $44 billion, a sum that would grow to $453 billion by 2027, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Federal grants make up more than one-third […]
Trump budget would shift huge SNAP costs to Ohio and put Ohioans at risk of going hungry
President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal present’s states with a Sophie’s choice: either carry much of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program’s (SNAP, previously known as Food Stamps) or make cuts. Trump’s plan threatens SNAP’s extraordinary long-term success in reducing severe hunger and malnutrition, according to a new report from the Center […]
Senate budget bill continues pattern of underinvestment
The Ohio Senate majority left major issues unsettled in its two-year state budget released today. Most importantly, it left intact a basic structure that underinvests in Ohio’s people and its communities. Key issues, such as the status of Medicaid expansion and the severity of cuts to that program, remain up in the air. There were […]
Pain of state budget cuts will be felt far and wide
Earlier this week, the Office of Budget and Management reported that Ohio collected $67 million below projections in May. Eleven months into the fiscal year, the state’s total general-revenue fund tax collections are $840 million below estimates so far. This means deep budget cuts lie ahead. The budget approved by the Ohio House would cut […]
AHCA would end Ohio’s Medicaid expansion, threatening coverage for 723,000
The health bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month would effectively end Medicaid expansion by shifting costs to the 32 states that adopted the program, including Ohio. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) shows the Senate’s proposal to phase in higher costs to the states will […]
Ohio needs investment, cuts in costly tax breaks
Policy Matters Ohio told the Senate Finance Committee today that the state needs more resources for education, health care and communities instead of the underinvestment in the two-year state budget approved by the House of Representatives. “We need a different approach to tax policy to make needed investments,” said Policy Matters Research Director Zach Schiller […]
Senate Bill 85 will starve public schools, hurt students
As Ohio public schools struggle to recover from the Great Recession, state lawmakers have steadily diverted resources to private schools by expanding voucher programs. While loosening eligibility requirements, Ohio has increased funding for voucher programs by 352 percent since 2008, according to a new report from Policy Matters Ohio. Now lawmakers are considering further undercutting […]
Congress looks to rollback payday lender regulations
A year ago today, after a hard-fought battle between consumer advocates and the financial industry, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a draft rule aimed at reining in the worst abuses of payday, car title and other high-cost debt trap lending schemes. Now consumer advocates are gearing up for another fight as Congress prepares […]