Report: 20% of nonelderly Ohioans spend at least a tenth of their income on health care

According to a new report from Families USA, "more than one in five nonelderly Ohioans live in families that will spend at least 10% of their paychecks on health care," while "more than a quarter of those 2.2 million people will spend at least 25% of their pretax income on health-care costs." (Source: "Cost of health burdens Ohioans," Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 6, 2007.) Of those Ohioans who spend at least 10% of their incomes on health care, at least 85% have health care insurance.

Kelly McGivern, president and CEO of the Ohio Association of Health Plans, criticized the report, saying it was "not helpful at finding a solution to the issues that are challenging our health-care system." Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Senator George V. Voinovich both said too many Ohio families are paying too much for their health care. However, the Senators' proposed solutions differed: the Dispatch article mentioned Brown's support of the federal SCHIP expansion, while Voinovich's supports a bipartisan bill that would allow states more flexibility to use current federal health-care dollars.