Ohio officials plan no ACA outreach efforts

Ohio officials are not planning any sort of outreach effort to educate consumers about the Affordable Care Act (Source: “Ohio officials hands-off in promoting health care law,” Associated Press via Newark Advocate, July 24, 2013). 

“We don’t have any plans to do those activities,” said Chris Brock, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Insurance.

Government spending in Ohio on outreach and advertising for the health overhaul amounts to 53 cents per capita, according to state and federal data compiled by The Associated Press. AP research from all 50 states shows the amount of government spending will range from a low of 46 cents per capita in Wisconsin, which has ceded responsibility for its health insurance exchange to the federal government, to $9.23 per capita in West Virginia, which opted for a state-federal partnership.

Health centers in Ohio will get $3.9 million in federal grants for patient outreach, and the facilities expect to hire 75 additional workers, who anticipate assisting more than 84,000 people with enrollment. Washington also is providing almost $2.3 million in grants to community groups for navigators, counselors trained to help people with insurance plans. The state’s insurance department has said it’s unclear how many navigators Ohio will have when enrollment begins.