Families tell Ohio legislature to protect OhioRise

Organizations representing families across Ohio are deeply concerned about a last-minute amendment to the Ohio Budget that could derail years of hard work to end forced custody relinquishment and puts at risk the highly-anticipated OhioRISE (Ohio Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) program. Announced last year, OhioRISE would improve care and provide funding to nearly 60,000 children complex behavioral-health issues.

The Center for Community Solutions and health and human service stakeholders sent letters opposing the termination of the Medicaid managed care procurement process to Senate President Matt Huffman, Speaker Bob Cupp, and others state leaders. During the final week of Senate budget deliberations, – without the input of HHS providers – a last-ditch amendment was included, unraveling years of testimony, public comment and policy engagement around renewing contracts for Ohio Medicaid, putting Ohio’s youth at risk.

“Terminating the Ohio managed care procurement leaves behind rural Ohioans, is anti-competitive and dismantles the years-long legislative work to stop pharmacy middle-manning, improve care and coordination for patients including nearly 60,000 multi-system youth, end custody relinquishment and save significant dollars in reduced overhead,” said the letter from Advocates for Ohio’s Future – a Columbus-based organization that is focused on the policies and budget relating to health and human services – signed by dozens of health care and social service providers, and a variety of organizations and people including foodbanks, concerned citizens and others.

Loren Anthes from the Center for Community Solutions said the problematic provisions dismantle significant and comprehensive reforms within OhioRISE that have been carefully developed by behavioral health experts, care providers, families and legislators. These reforms are designed to fix the state’s lack of access, delays, poor coordination and significant gaps in care that currently impact about 60,000 children.

“Ohio’s behavioral health care system was in a state of crisis. We worked for years to add capacity and close gaps in treatment that make economic sense for everyone. By ending the procurement process, they are undoing what we have long worked for and effectively dismantling critical reforms and the interwoven operational and financial connections needed to make OhioRISE a reality,” said Anthes, adding that $416 million in savings was also being jeopardized.

Mark Butler, from Central Ohio, parent of a child with complex-needs, is worried what procurement elimination means to his community. “We have spent years elevating the voices of parents with children who have significant challenges and we were happy we had partners in the DeWine administration and in the General Assembly to work with us. Before OhioRISE, some parents, including me and my wife, have had to make the terrifying decision of handing over custody of their children to the government just so they can receive basic medicine. We thought OhioRISE represented the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I’m not sure our voices are being heard in the Statehouse.”

OhioRISE would finally end forced custody relinquishment in which parents have to turn over custody of their children to the government in order to receive treatment,

Opponents believe the problematic provision was made to protect a single contractor who lost out on the managed care bid, claiming it will protect jobs and consumer interests for an Ohio-based company. However, opponents say the provisions will actually cost jobs, end transparency and accountability through the artificial regulation of the marketplace.

OhioRISE has received significant bipartisan support and is one of several reforms the state included in its procurement effort, including work to stop price gouging by pharmacy benefit managers and paperwork reduction for medical providers.

“Ohio should not step in the way of creating incentives which drive performance and are bringing a net increase of Ohio jobs through the inclusion of new market entrants,” Anthes added. “In the coming days and weeks, families across Ohio will be reaching out to members of the House and Senate to make sure they hear one message: you must protect OhioRISE by protecting procurement. We urge them to remove the procurement provisions MCDCD42 and MCDCD43 from the budget bill.”