Some Fear Proposed Freeze On Medicaid Expansion Could Make Ohio's Opioid Crisis Worse

A new analysis from the Associated Press showed Medicaid expansion accounted for 43 percent of total Ohio Medicaid spending on substance abuse and mental health treatment. Advocates for the poor worry a proposed amendment in the Senate budget to would Medicaid expansion enrollments would be a disaster for Ohio’s opioid crisis. Steve Wagner with the Universal Health Care Action Network says many of the Ohioans who have been covered by Medicaid expansion are low income workers who shift in and out of jobs often. He says the freeze on enrollments in Medicaid expansion starting July 1^st, 2018 would shut them out. And he says that would be a huge problem when it comes to getting treatment for opioid addicts. “There was a lot of impact on opioid addicted population because of Medicaid and losing that would be significant damage.”Numbers from the state show Medicaid expansion has helped a half million Ohioans access substance or mental health treatment. Last year, $650 million from that pot was spent to prevent and treat opioid addictions. Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.