The Health Policy Institute of Ohio, through support from the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, has released A Snapshot of Ohio's Safety Net (pdf, 71 pages, 13MB), a report on the economic downturn’s impact on safety net services in Ohio and other states’ strategies to monitor safety net change. HPIO, with support from the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, collaborated with researchers at Wright State University to undertake the Safety Net Snapshot Project, which surveyed Ohio-based safety net providers, conducted community-level interviews and investigated other states' monitoring efforts. A fact sheet (pdf, 2 pages) of the general findings in the report is also available.
In addition, HPIO and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks hosted five regional forums earlier this year to discuss the status of the health care safety net in Ohio. Each forum included a presentation of the findings of the Ohio Safety Net Snapshot Report and a panel of local providers to address the impact of the economic downturn and federal health reform on the safety net.
Regional Forum feedback
A primary purpose of the five regional forums, held in Columbus/Grove City, Cincinnati, Rootstown/Portage County, Lima and Glouster/Athens County, was to solicit input from participants on how the health safety net in their region of the state is withstanding the economic downturn. That feedback has been compiled into a Regional Forum Summary Report.
