The report examined the budget adopted by the U.S. House for the federal fiscal year beginning in Oct. 2011. The budget includes a provision to cut federal funding to state Medicaid programs by five percent in 2013, 15 percent in 2014 and 33 percent in 2021.
The report found that the initial cuts would cost Ohio $527 million in federal aid, more than 11,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in business activity. Those numbers increase to $3.5 billion in federal aid, 75,000 jobs and more than $7.9 billion in business lost by 2021. According to the report, Ohio would lose more jobs than all but five other states.
The plan, which is designed to save trillions of dollars over the next 10 years by changing Medicaid to a block grant program, was introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The plan aims to give state officials more flexibility in building their own healthcare programs.
Lawmakers are still discussing the Medicaid cuts, though the Senate rejected the House-passed budget.
Read the Columbus Dispatch report on Medicaid.
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