Columnist Says Ohio One-Time Health Checks Mask Deeper Coverage Losses
In an opinion column, the author argues that one-time payments sent to some ACA marketplace enrollees and traditional Medicare Part B beneficiaries, including roughly 70,000 and 748,000 Ohioans respectively, are a politically timed gesture that does little to offset much larger losses from federal policy changes. The piece contends the checks, funded partly through the Medicare Improvement Fund and sent without congressional authorization, exclude most ACA enrollees and all Medicare Advantage enrollees, and were targeted toward contested Senate race states. The author links these payments to Ohio's 32.4% drop in ACA enrollment, a 14.7% projected premium increase, and more than $33 billion in Medicaid funding losses over a decade tied to the reconciliation law signed last year, including upcoming Medicaid work requirements starting January 1. No court has blocked either payment program, according to the column.