Ohio’s Medicaid costs $2 billion less than estimates

Despite higher-than-expected enrollment of Ohioans newly eligible for Medicaid, overall costs of the tax-funded health-insurance program in the most-recent fiscal year were nearly $2 billion below original estimates (“Ohio’s Medicaid costs $2 billion less than estimates,” Columbus Dispatch, August 13, 2015).

According to a report released on Wednesday by Gov. John Kasich’s administration, total Medicaid spending was $23.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30; that was 7.6 percent less than projected.

Medicaid Director John McCarthy said savings have been achieved through expanded home-based care for seniors, shorter nursing-home stays, expanded managed care, capitated reimbursement policies — pay per patient rather than per patient visit — and other cost-controlling efforts.

“This is a good example of where you have better management tools, you can better manage the program and control costs,” said Greg Moody, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation.