Ohio gets $10.8 million fed bonus for enrolling kids in Medicaid

Last week federal officials awarded Ohio a “performance bonus” of more than $10.8 million in recognition of the state’s efforts to insure poor children and streamline the state’s juvenile health coverage program (Source: “Feds award Ohio a $10.8 million bonus for enrolling children in Medicaid,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dec. 30, 2013).

Ohio was one of 23 states that received a bonus for enrolling children in Medicaid and improving access to coverage, according to a release from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

State health officials haven’t yet decided how the money will be spent, according to Ohio Department of Medicaid spokesman Sam Rossi.

The state has used $33.9 million in previous bonus money to help expand temporary Medicaid eligibility to pregnant women, fund research into diseases such as asthma, and pay for addiction treatment services, among other things, according to the Governor's Office of Health Transformation.