Ohio Medicaid to become stand-alone, cabinet-level agency

The Kasich Administration announced last week that it is moving forward with a plan to create a free-standing state agency to oversee Ohio's $18 billion Medicaid program(Source: "State's medicaid program to become free-standing agency," Columbus Dispatch, July 27, 2012).

While planning is expected to begin immediately, the agency is expected to officially break from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on July 1, 2014.

“This is change that is overdue,” said Greg Moody, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation. “It has been recommended by separate study commissions in 2005 and 2006 but never acted on.”

The move is not intended to reduce the Medicaid workforce, according to an Ohio Medicaid Modernization document (pdf, 4 pages) released by OHT.

"The elevation of Medicaid to cabinet-level status is intended to release the creative potential of the state’s Medicaid team to push forward with Medicaid reforms already underway, and to position the program within state government commensurate with Medicaid’s responsibility to improve overall health system performance, improve care for vulnerable Ohioans, and control costs for Ohio’s taxpayers," the OHT report states.