Ohio House Bill HB675

Ohio 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/26

Caption

To establish a temporary program for hospital payments made by Medicaid managed care organizations and to name this act the Healthier Rural Hospitals Act.

Summary

HB675, the Healthier Rural Hospitals Act, would create a temporary Medicaid payment program for hospitals located in Ohio counties with populations under 100,000. The Department of Medicaid would calculate the statewide average payment rate paid by Medicaid managed care organizations to hospitals, then identify eligible counties by ranking them using a combined score based on cancer mortality, poverty, chronic lower respiratory disease deaths, stroke deaths, and unintentional drug overdose deaths. The 20 lowest-ranked counties would qualify for the program. Hospitals in the 10 highest-priority eligible counties would have to be paid at least 150% of the statewide average rate, while hospitals in the next 10 eligible counties would have to be paid at least 125% of that average. The bill also prohibits Medicaid managed care organizations from offsetting these higher payments by reducing rates to hospitals that are not in the program. The program would automatically end two years after the effective date.

Impact

The bill would add a new temporary payment mandate within Ohio Medicaid managed care, affecting how managed care organizations reimburse hospitals in qualifying rural counties. It would require the Department of Medicaid to perform statewide rate calculations and county rankings, and it would create a targeted reimbursement floor for hospitals in the 20 lowest-ranked small counties. The measure would primarily affect rural hospitals, Medicaid managed care organizations, and the Department of Medicaid, while leaving nonparticipating hospitals protected from rate reductions used to finance the program.

Sentiment

Based on the bill’s title, structure, and lack of recorded opposition or committee testimony in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a support measure for rural hospitals and communities with poorer health outcomes. The emphasis on higher reimbursement rates for hospitals in counties with elevated mortality, poverty, and overdose indicators suggests a generally favorable policy intent toward rural health care access and hospital stability. No votes or committee transcripts are available here, so there is no documented public debate in the provided record.

Contention

The main likely point of contention is the cost and financing of the higher Medicaid managed care payments, especially because the bill requires increased rates without allowing managed care organizations to offset those costs by cutting payments to other hospitals. Another possible issue is the bill’s county-ranking formula, which combines health and socioeconomic measures and may be viewed as favoring some rural counties over others based on the selected metrics. Stakeholders most likely to support the bill are rural hospitals and advocates for rural health access, while Medicaid managed care organizations and budget-focused policymakers may be concerned about reimbursement mandates and program costs.