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02/01/2023

Correction: Governor DeWine releases budget proposal 'Blue Book'

Correction: Governor DeWine releases budget proposal 'Blue Book'

The following includes a correction from the previously distributed version of this write up. 
 
Following Governor DeWine's State of the State address yesterday, the Governor's office released the executive budget proposal ("the Blue Book") for SFY 2024-2025 early this morning. It is now available on the Office of Budget & Management's website. 

This represents the first step in Ohio's biennial budget process and provides the Governor with a chance to name his priorities to begin the process. The Blue Book offers high-level summaries of proposals by Administration, but lacks important detail on budget assumptions and projections, including Medicaid reimbursement rates. Medicaid does state, “The Department will prioritize provider rate changes approved through the budget process and their impacts on workforce and service provision,” but providers will need to wait until the Director of Medicaid’s testimony before the House Finance Committee later this month for additional detail.

The executive budget proposal includes:

Items addressed in the executive budget proposal that pertain to LeadingAge Ohio members include the following:

In regard to skilled nursing facilities, Governor DeWine emphasized correcting preventable tragedies due to systemic problems such as poor infection control, medication errors, failure to provide care, and elder abuse. In the State of the State, he shared that Ohio ranks 39th in the most recent CMS overall Quality Star Ratings and facilities have inconsistent compliance with standards of care. A task force will be appointed to study the issues surrounding quality of life and care in nursing homes, and he shared that any discussion around rebasing would have to include quality incentives. 
 
The legislature now begins its work to craft their version of the budget bill, beginning in the Ohio House of Representatives. LeadingAge Ohio will continue to share information on the executive budget proposal, including specific rate proposals, when the legislative language is released in the coming weeks. For questions on the executive budget proposal, please reach out to Susan Wallace at swallace@leadingageohio.org

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