MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER
House-Passed Budget Bill Includes Revisions to Support Low-Income Families
On April 26, the Ohio House of Representatives House approved its version of the budget by a vote of 78-19. As the House was putting its final touches on the 5,700-page budget, the Senate was already beginning its hearings on House Bill 33.
In addition to increasing funding for legal aid services and foodbanks, the House-passed version of HB 33 includes several important policy changes to support low-income families and children including:
- Allowing students who are eligible for reduced-price lunches to receive the meals at no cost.
- Expanding eligibility for cash assistance under Ohio Works First to include any eligible pregnant woman—a change from current eligibility, which includes pregnant women who were at least six months pregnant.
- Maintaining Governor DeWine’s expansion of Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and children under the age of 19 up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but also requiring the Ohio Department of Medicaid to apply for a waiver to provide continuous Medicaid enrollment for children from birth through three years of age.
- Allowing Medicaid to cover doula services.
- Establishing and funding a program to address the benefit cliff and support parents as they earn modest wage increases.
As our advocacy turns to the Senate, we will be working to support these important investments and policy changes but also asking the Senate to restore the Governor’s requested funding for lead poisoning prevention, add funding for child care, and support the fair school funding plan.
Strong Foundations Act Recognizes the Role of Medical-Legal Partnerships to Improve Health Outcomes
Maternal and infant mortality continues to be a leading public health crisis in Ohio. According to the Ohio Department of Health, the 2020 infant mortality rate in Ohio was 6.7 per 1,000 live births, higher than the national rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. Ohio’s rate among Black infants was 13.6. The infant mortality rate in the Appalachian region of Ohio was 21 percent higher than in the nation as a whole.
House Bill 7, the Strong Foundations Act, addresses many issues that will improve the health and well-being of pregnant women, parents, and children. The bill, introduced by Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Rep. Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus), provides funds for Help Me Grow and Healthy Beginnings at Home, which provides stable housing to pregnant women. The bill also makes changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program. The proposed changes would make it easier for women to enroll and stay enrolled in these critical nutrition programs that help pregnant women and children thrive.
As a holistic approach to addressing maternal and child health, HB 7 recognizes the critical role that legal services can play to stabilize families and improve health outcomes. The bill includes a grant program to provide funding for Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLP). MLPs integrate the unique expertise of lawyers into health care settings to help clinicians, case managers, and social workers address problems at the root of many health inequities. Lawyers and doctors partner in the healthcare setting to resolve legal problems that adversely affect health and prevent people from properly accessing health care.
On May 2, Advocates for Basic Legal Equality and the Legal Aid Society of Columbus
testified as proponents in the House Families and Aging Committee, sharing legal and health outcomes of the clients they serve through MLPs.
