Ohio Consumers for Health Coverage (OCHC)

Ohio Consumers for Health Coverage (OCHC) is a coalition uniting the consumer voice with the goal of achieving affordable, high-quality care for all.

OCHC combines the force and expertise of 18 health care consumer organizations to bring the voice of consumers to legislators, administrators, and health care system stakeholders.

OCHC’s organizational membership is diverse and represents the healthy and the sick, the insured and uninsured, those with resources and those with few resources.

OCHC Principles

Health care should be accessible to all.
Health care is accessible when health insurance is continuous and affordable to individuals and families.
Achieving accessible health care should be affordable and sustainable for society.
Health insurance should enhance health and well-being by promoting access to high-quality care that is effective, efficient, safe, timely, and patient-centered.
Health care should not be predictable by race, class, gender identity, geography, language, or other social factors.
Individual health outcomes are tied to countless systemic barriers that impact personal decision-making.

Goals and Strategies

OCHC has identified five advocacy priorities to improve health care for consumers:

Implement anti-racist education, policies, and procedures in health care

Collaborate with area health systems to identify and eliminate policies that negatively impact people of color.

Educate current and future health care professionals on the need for anti-racist policies and practices, as well as equity-driven targeted interventions, to alleviate health disparities.

Foster constructive discussions and develop data-driven intervention measures.

Integrate health equity considerations into policymaking at every level

Collaborate with lawmakers and policymakers to bring Health and Equity in All Policies explicitly into decision making processes.

Engage consumers through education about the significance of health equity.

In coalition with statewide partners, develop and refine a tool for policymakers to use to evaluate the health and equity impact of potential and pending policies.

Protect Medicaid eligibility and services

Advise OCHC members about the ongoing status of the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) and the potential loss of benefits people will face when the PHE ends.

Prepare OCHC members to support Medicaid beneficiaries through the redetermination process coinciding with the end of the PHE.

Advocate to ensure that the launch of Medicaid Managed Care 2.0 (“Next Generation”) and the end of the MyCare demonstration project support continuing Medicaid coverage to the greatest possible extent.

Support efforts to expand School-based Health Care

Participate in coalitions dedicating time and effort to examining sustainable approaches to school-based health care.

Advocate for and facilitate community engagement in conceptualizing the possible services and opportunities in school-based health care programs that will serve them.

Educate about and advocate for expansion of Medicaid reimbursement for health services provided in school settings by school personnel.

Develop messages that resonate with targeted audiences to advance our priorities.

Leadership Team

OCHC Co-Chair: Marie Curry, Community Legal Aid Services

OCHC Co-Chair: Darold Johnson, Ohio Federation of Teachers

Advocates for Ohio’s Future: Kelsey Bergfeld, Sarah Hudacek

Center for Closing the Health Gap: Renee Mahaffey Harris

Children’s Defense Fund: Kelly Vyzral, Tracy Najera

Equitas Health: Dominique Shepherd

Faith in Public Life: Dan Clark

Jobs With Justice – Toledo: Bob Lynn

National MS Society: Holly Pendell

Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition: Zachery Williams

Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans: Norm Wernet

Ohio Asian American Health Coalition: Manju Sankarappa

Ohio Association of Community Health Centers: Teresa Rios-Bishop

Ohio Citizen Advocates for Addiction Recovery: Molly O’Neill, Sarah Thompson

Ohio Poverty Law Center: Danielle DeLeon Spires

Ohio Public Health Association: Cheryl Davis

Policy Matters Ohio: Amanda Woodrum

UHCAN Ohio: Steve Wagner

Accomplishments

In 2022, OCHC worked with others to create an innovative Health Equity Assessment Tool, designed to help policymakers make fairer decisions for all Ohioans. OCHC worked with a coalition to develop recommendations to financially support school-based health care in Ohio. OCHC submitted questions to CMS regarding access to health care coverage.

Health equity assessment tool (04/22)

Statewide workgroup recommendations (04/22)

OCHC Medicaid letter (04/22)

In 2021, OCHC advocated for anti-racism in health care. With UHCAN Ohio, OCHC encouraged policymakers to consider Health and Equity in all Policies. The coalition highlighted the need for Ohio to strengthen school-based health care.

School-based health care letter (04/21)

In 2020, OCHC recommended steps to Ohio’s governor and General Assembly on addressing COVID-19 and racial health disparities. OCHC advocated for integrating health equity considerations into policymaking. OCHC sent a letter to ODM regarding the implementation plan for Medicaid work requirements, seeking to protect Medicaid applications and services. OCHC educated consumers about health policies to increase community engagement and consumer voice in policy decisions.

OCHC comments to CMS (01/20)

OCHC letter to Ohio Department of Medicaid (01/20)

OCHC recommendations for Ohio’s COVID-19 response (04/20)

OCHC response to MHSF report (12/20)

In 2019, OCHC submitted comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to the request for comment on the consumer inflation measures produced by Federal Statistical Agencies. OCHC sent a letter to ODM requesting information regarding Medicaid enrollment rates dropping.

OCHC comments on consumer inflation measures (06/19)

In 2018, OCHC advocated at the state and federal level in opposition to Ohio Department of Medicaid’s s.1115 Medicaid waiver application seeking to impose additional requirements on people who rely on Medicaid for them to maintain health insurance coverage.

OCHC Comments to CMS on Ohio Medicaid s.1115 waiver proposal

In 2017, along with many partners, OCHC successfully advocated to protect the 2013 expansion of Medicaid to include over 701,000 Ohioans.

In 2016, OCHC engaged its member organizations in successfully opposing the State of Ohio’s s.1115 “Healthy Ohio” waiver request by disseminating information about the waiver impact, filing comments, and providing testimony on state hearings on the waiver request.

In 2015, OCHC supplied testimony and other input that improved the Ohio Department of Insurance rule requiring health plans to maintain accessible and up-to-date provider network listings.

Since 2014, OCHC has convened regular “feedback loop” calls with patient navigators, certified application assistants, and other providers of health services, identifying barriers in Marketplace, Medicaid, and other health plans and developing strategies to alleviate them.

Take Action

Consumers

Tell us how the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid positively affects you. Speak Up!

Partners

If you know someone who has benefited from the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid, and who is willing to share their story, email Steve Wagner (swagner@uhcanohio.org).

If you would like to learn more about becoming a member of OCHC, email Darold Johnson (djohnson@oft-aft.org) or Marie Curry (mcurry@communitylegalaid.org).

If you would like to join our monthly “Feedback Loop” to discuss issues folks are facing with their health plans, email Marie Curry (mcurry@communitylegalaid.org).

Funders

If you would like to make a donation, email Darold Johnson (djohnson@oft-aft.org) or Marie Curry (mcurry@communitylegalaid.org).

Reporters

If you would like to request a phone or in-person interview, contact Darold Johnson (djohnson@oft-aft.org) or Marie Curry (mcurry@communitylegalaid.org).