Ohio House GOP eyes requiring Medicaid enrollees to contribute to coverage

Republicans in the Ohio House are considering ways to require Medicaid recipients to shop for treatment and invest their own money into their health care (Source: “Lawmakers want Medicaid recipients to help pay for care,” Mansfield News Journal, April 21, 2015).

Proposed changes to the two-year, $71.5 billion budget would require certain individuals receiving Medicaid to invest 2 percent of their family income or $1 per month, whichever is greater, into a state-managed health savings account called a "buckeye account."

Medicaid would contribute $1,000 per adult and $500 per child each year to the account. Funds in the account would carry over from year to year as long as people complete health services, such as an annual checkup.