Our Work

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has released a new brief titled “Insurance coverage and affordability of mental healthcare for Ohio children and youth.”

Many young Ohioans experience mental health challenges, and families often have difficulty navigating the mental healthcare and insurance systems. For some families in Ohio, having a health insurance plan is not enough to overcome barriers to access, as illustrated above. The brief examines health insurance coverage, cost of care and how they influence access to mental health services.

HPIO has also released a new 4-page policy explainer on federal and state mental health parity laws.

The coverage and affordability brief is the final in a series of four briefs released as part of HPIO’s Ohio Child Mental Health Project. Led by HPIO and informed by a multi-sector advisory group, the Ohio Child Mental Health Project includes other briefs that explore:

• Prevalence data of various mental health conditions
• Factors that contribute to mental health challenges for young Ohioans
• Access to mental healthcare services among Ohio children and youth

As the U.S. celebrates Juneteenth today, data shows that Black-owned businesses are an important driver of jobs and income in Ohio.

According to Census Bureau data, there were 5,604 Black-owned businesses with employees in Ohio in 2023. These businesses employed more than 64,000 workers. The annual payroll from Black-owned businesses has grown from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $2 billion in 2023, an 82% increase in the past six years, as illustrated above.

The data on the economic impact of Black-owned businesses in Ohio demonstrates that the state’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths and that the success of the Black community leads to success for the state overall.

Previous HPIO work has shown that financial security directly influences health outcomes, including mental health and overall health status, and is closely connected to other social drivers of health such as housing, education, food security and healthcare access. HPIO publications have also found that expanding equitable access to financing and resources can help prospective business owners from systematically disadvantaged communities overcome existing barriers to business creation, growth and long-term success.

The history of Juneteenth dates to the 1865 arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, to announce that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree, making it the final state to do so. Since that time, Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and 19th) has been celebrated, primarily in the Black community, as the U.S.’s “second Independence Day,” according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It became both a state holiday in Ohio and a federal holiday in 2021.

As celebrations for Pride Month continue, state data shows that more than 1 in 10 Ohio adults (10.6%) are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community is diverse, including people from all races, ethnicities, ages, sexes, genders, incomes and rural and urban communities.

Comprehensive state-level data on LGBTQ+ Ohioans has always been limited. These limitations, however, have worsened in recent years. According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, federal data collections (e.g., national surveys and surveillance systems, administrative forms and records) have removed more than 360 measures related to the LGBTQ+ community since January 2025. The removal of these measures makes it harder to quantify health challenges experienced by the LGBTQ+ community and close gaps in outcomes.

All Ohioans benefit from data collection that reflects our diverse communities and their different needs. For example, HPIO’s 2026 Health Value Dashboard includes disaggregated data for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. This data highlights how building policies and systems that protect against discrimination and support trauma-informed services can make our communities safer and more inclusive for everyone. The data also helps policymakers, researchers and advocates understand how to support the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ Ohioans.

Since 2022, local collaboratives and initiatives have started across Ohio to improve state and local data about LGBTQ+ Ohioans. For example:

• The Northeast Ohio LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment identifies and addresses the most pressing needs of the LGBTQ+ community in the Greater Akron, Cleveland and Mahoning Valley areas.
• The Greater Columbus INSIGHT is an LGBTQ+ needs assessment for central Ohio being completed in collaboration between the Ohio State University, local public health and community-based LGBTQ+ organizations.