Ohio House Bill HB917

Ohio 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Filed/Introduced: 8/6/26

Caption

To amend section 3712.07 of the Revised Code regarding remuneration from residents of terminal care facilities for the homeless.

Summary

HB917 amends Ohio Revised Code section 3712.07 governing hospice care services in terminal care facilities for the homeless. The bill defines a “terminal care facility for the homeless” as a facility serving homeless individuals who are terminally ill, and authorizes licensed hospice care providers to enter into agreements with such facilities to provide hospice services, so long as specified conditions are met. Those conditions include that each resident has a physician’s diagnosis of a terminal condition with an expected life expectancy of six months or less, each resident is under direct physician care, no resident requires injection-based medication administration by facility staff, and the facility meets applicable health, safety, fire, sanitation, and food-handling standards.

Impact

The bill would revise state law to expressly prohibit these facilities from receiving remuneration, directly or indirectly, from residents, Medicaid, or Medicare as a condition of operating under the statute, while also clarifying the circumstances under which hospice personnel may provide services and when facility staff may assist with or administer non-injectable medication. In practical terms, it would affect hospice providers, homeless-service facilities serving terminally ill individuals, and residents who lack family support or financial means, while reinforcing that such facilities must operate without resident or public insurance-based payment and must comply with health and safety requirements.

Sentiment

Because the bill was introduced and referred to the House Health Committee without recorded votes or committee testimony in the provided materials, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to measure. Based on the text, the measure appears intended as a targeted public-health and end-of-life care policy for a vulnerable population, suggesting a generally humanitarian purpose rather than a controversial broad policy change.

Contention

The main policy point embedded in the bill is the prohibition on remuneration from residents and from Medicaid or Medicare, which may raise operational and funding concerns for facilities that serve homeless individuals at the end of life. Another potential area of concern is the narrow eligibility structure, including the requirement that residents be terminally ill, under physician care, and not need injectable medication administration by staff. No specific objections, supporters, or amendments are reflected in the available committee or vote history.