Ohio Health Policy Review

ODH, HPIO release dental Care data brief

Researchers at the Ohio Department of Health and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio have released a data brief, titled “Oral Health Findings from the Ohio Family Health Survey, 2008,” (pdf, 2 pages) examining dental care in Ohio, using data from the most recent Ohio Family Health Survey.

The report found that regardless of family income status, dental care was the most pressing unmet health care need for both adults and children.

Some of the findings include:

• 479,000 Ohio children (or 18.3 percent) were without dental insurance, compared to 111,000 children (4 percent) who were uninsured for medical care
• Even though low-income children (those in families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four) had higher rates of dental coverage, they were less likely to have a dental visit in the past 12 months (68 percent of low-income children, compared to 81.5 percent of higher-income children)
• 3,433,000 (or 39.4 percent) of Ohio adults 18 and older reported having no dental coverage, compared to 1,232,000 (or 14.1 percent) of adults who reported being uninsured for medical care
• For adults, family income and job status are associated with a lack of dental coverage

2010 Ohio Family Health Survey interviews set to begin

The 2010 Ohio Family Health Survey, managed by the Ohio Colleges of Medicine’s Government Resource Center and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, is expected to begin collecting interviews in the middle of July, with interviews to be concluded in August.

The stratified random digital dial survey of approximately 5,200 Ohio households (using both land-line and cellular phones) is a follow-up to the 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey, which was one of the largest and most comprehensive state-level health and insurance surveys conducted in the nation.

The emphasis for the 2010 survey is gauging the level of economic stress on Ohio families and how that is impacting Ohio's health system and indicators of health, according to Tim Sahr, HPIO Director of Research and co-principal investigator on the OFHS. The OFHS team also is planning another major survey of 50,000-plus households in 2012 that will track results from the 2008 survey and will include county-level information.

Initial data results from the 2010 OFHS are expected later this year.

Ohio Budget Commission begins looking into state deficit

In its second meeting, the State Management and Planning Commission heard from Strickland Administration officials that the state’s economy is in “recovery mode,” an assertion that was met with skepticism by the Republican legislators sitting on the six-member bi-partisan panel organized to look for solutions to a state budget deficit that is projected to be as large as $8 billion by 2012-13 (Source: “Official: Ohio in 'recovery mode',” Columbus Dispatch, July 8, 2010).

State Budget Director J. Pari Sabety told the panel during her presentation, titled “Ohio's Budget: Steady Fiscal Control in Turbulent Times," (pdf, 18 pages) that the state’s employment picture is stabilizing and the 2010 budget ended with a $139 million balance.

Before Sabety spoke, the commission heard from an official with the National Conference of State Legislatures, who said that other states are facing even worse budget deficits than Ohio. Compared to other states, some of which have projected budget gaps as large as 45 percent of their current budgets, Ohio is expected to have a gap of about 16 percent of its 50.5 billion budget, according to Todd Haggerty of the NCSL. However, a presentation from the Council of State Governments concluded that the state's overall economic and competitiveness performance is "sub-par."

The commission is scheduled to meet again July 20. Between now and mid-August, Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, co-chairman of the committee, said that the panel is soliciting any group or individual to submit reports and recommendations that could be used to deal with the next budget.

Ohio obesity rate continues to climb, report finds

An annual state ranking for obesity has found that Ohio improved from the 10th most obese state in the nation to 13th this year, in spite of an increase in the state’s obesity rate to 29 percent from 28.6 percent last year (Source: “Report: Ohio obesity rate hits 29%,” Business Courier of Cincinnati, July 1, 2010).
The report, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2010,” (pdf, 124 pages) was published jointly by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The report found that 38 states now have an adult obesity rate of 25 percent or greater. Two decades ago not a single state had a rate above 20 percent.
The report also highlighted what it called “troubling” racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates. Adult obesity was more prevalent among blacks and Latinos than whites in at least 40 states, including Ohio. Adult obesity for blacks in Ohio hit nearly 41 percent in the latest report, one of the 10 highest rates in the nation.

HPIO releases fact sheet on impact of national reform on Ohio's uninsured

As Ohio policymakers continue to implement national health reform, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio is planning to publish a series of Health Reform Fact Sheets. Over the next six months, HPIO will be releasing the short papers designed to describe the Ohio-specific impact of national reform on coverage, provider capacity, delivery system reform, information transparency, and State resources. The latest of these, finished this week, addresses Ohio’s uninsured and how they will be impacted by reform.

HPIO also has released its National Health Reform Framework — a one-page summary of implementation priorities that can be used by HPIO and others as a starting point for more detailed discussions about the challenges and opportunities related to reform.

In addition, HPIO also has created a presentation,"What Reform Means for Ohio," that describes national reform, implementation challenges, and opportunities for Ohio to improve health system performance (this presentation is ideal for strategic planning — please contact Jill Huntley at 614-224-4950 or jhuntley@healthpolicyohio.org if you are interested in scheduling Greg Moody, HPIO Interim Director, to present at your organization and/or facilitate a discussion on the impact of reform).

Study: Ohio obesity rate up to 29%, 13th highest in nation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation An annual state ranking for obesity has found that Ohio improved from 10th most obese state in the nation to 13th this year, inspite of an increase in the state’s obesity rate to 29 percent from 28.6 percent (Source: “Report: Ohio obesity rate hits 29%,” Business Courier of Cincinnati, July 1, 2010).

The report, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2010,” was published jointly by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report found that 38 states now have an adult obesity rate of 25 percent or greater. Two decades ago not a single state had a rate above 20 percent.

The report also highlighted what it called “troubling” racial and ethnic disparities in obesity rates. Adult obesity was more prevalent among blacks and Latinos than whites in at least 40 states, including Ohio. Adult obesity for blacks in Ohio hit nearly 41 percent in the latest report, one of the 10 highest rates in the nation.

HPIO releases "A Snapshot of Ohio's Health Safety Net"

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio, through support from the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, has released A Snapshot of Ohio's Safety Net (pdf, 71 pages, 13MB), a report on the economic downturn’s impact on safety net services in Ohio and other states’ strategies to monitor safety net change. HPIO, with support from the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, collaborated with researchers at Wright State University to undertake the Safety Net Snapshot Project, which surveyed Ohio-based safety net providers, conducted community-level interviews and investigated other states' monitoring efforts. A fact sheet (pdf, 2 pages) of the general findings in the report is also available.

In addition, HPIO and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks are hosting five regional forums to discuss the status of the health care safety net in Ohio (see details below, in the left-hand column). Each forum will include a presentation of the findings of the Ohio Safety Net Snapshot Report as well as a panel of local providers to address the impact of the economic downturn and federal health reform on the safety net.

Click here for the regional forums presentation (pdf, 65 pages)

HPIO to host regional forums on family violence prevention

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio invites you to attend one of five free, half-day regional forums to discuss county-level findings on family violence in Ohio. The forums, titled "Using Family Violence Data to Build Support for Prevention in Ohio," will present data on child abuse/neglect, intimate partner violence and elder abuse/neglect and provide training to those interested in using the information to build support for prevention.

At the end of this forum, participants will be able to:

• describe at least four sources of family violence data in Ohio;
• demonstrate the ability to access online sources of family violence data in Ohio;
• prepare an accurate, compelling graph that conveys at least one of the following themes: (1) family violence in your county is as common as other widely recognized threats to health and well-being, (2) many cases in your county never come to the attention of authorities, (3)both prevention and intervention are key to curtailing family violence. 

All sessions will be held from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.

Cincinnati (West Chester)/Butler County - April 9, 2010
Columbus (Grove City)/Franklin County - April 12, 2010
Nelsonville/Athens County - April 16, 2010
Toledo (Maumee)/Lucas County - April 19, 2010
Akron/Summit County - April 23, 2010

To register, visit this page

Lagging provider reporting leaves ODH unclear of H1N1 vaccination rate

A lag in H1N1 vaccine providers reporting data has meant that the state has an inaccurate, low count of how many Ohioans have been vaccinated for the virus (Source: “H1N1 vaccination rates don't show full picture,” Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 10, 2010).

Although providers are required to report data within 24 hours to the Ohio Department of Health, there are no penalties spelled our for delayed reporting.

According to ODH, 17 percent of Ohioans in all priority groups for the vaccine had been vaccinated and about 33 percent of children younger than 10 who received a first dose have received a second dose.
The state has ordered nearly 5 million doses of vaccine, and fewer than 1.4 million doses had been administered, according to the data from last week.

"I'm not really drawing any conclusions based on the data," said Amy Bashforth, the state's immunization program chief, adding that national polls, including one from Harvard University, have found much higher rates.

ODI: Liability closed claims down 40 percent since tort reform passed

A new report from the Ohio Department of Insurance has found that the number of medical liability closed claims has dropped 40 percent since tort reform was enacted in 2005 (Source: “Tort reforms cited in Ohio’s medical claims decline,” Dayton Daily News, Feb. 3, 2010).

The annual Ohio Medical Liability Closed Claim Report is mandated as part of the tort reform legislation. Among the provision in the tort reform law is capping noneconomic damages at $350,000 and limitations on claims. According to the Ohio State Medical Association, which was a strong supporter of the legislation, premiums have decreased by an average of 22 percent since the bill was passed.