Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff laid out plans for a $202 million federal award aimed at rural health, following drastic Trump/Republican Medicaid cuts that will hit Ohio to the tune of $33 billion over 10 years.
During overall budget testimony in the Ohio House Health Committee, Vanderhoff spelled out different priorities for the money awarded to the state through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which the Trump administration has presented as an attempt to offset cuts in other areas, such as Medicaid funding cut.
The Trump/Republican Medicaid funding cuts will hit Ohio to the tune of $33 billion over 10 years, according to experts. Those and other cuts will disproportionately impact rural hospitals and health care facilities.
“We’re not the most rural state (according to the federal government),” Vanderhoff said. “But we do have important rural areas, and we do have important rural needs.”
Vanderhoff said the department “felt rewarded” and “felt that we hit the mark” after their application netted more federal funds than he was expecting to receive.
The biggest pot of money received through the fund is $92 million, to be used for Rural Health Innovation Hubs and Clinically Integrated Networks, according to Vanderhoff.
Services would include hospital support and health access for struggling areas, and “primary care services particularly impacting students.”
Ohio’s program of rural school-based health centers would also get $21.1 million from the funds, and $13.5 million will go toward workforce programs, according to Vanderhoff.
The director said a big problem the department hopes to address is maternal and infant health.
“We are already aware of a number of efforts that are in the early stages in places in Ohio, and so we have a lot of optimism that those kinds of efforts will find this as real fuel for helping them move forward,” Vanderhoff told the committee.
The state maintains high infant mortality numbers compared to other states, along with high maternal morbidity and mortality rates, all of which are “directly impacted” by work in rural areas, he said.
But “doing more of what we have done in the past unsuccessfully is probably not the way to go,” the director noted.
He is prepared to see grant proposals come from groups in the state looking to do more innovative work.
“I have heard enough to say that I’d be very surprised if we don’t see this be one of the top things that some regions choose to address in a serious way,” Vanderhoff said.
Committee members from various parts of the state acknowledged the challenge of bringing and keeping health care in rural regions of the state.
Maternal care has seen a decrease in rural areas, partly because of the Medicaid cuts, and other losses of funding.
“A lot of maternity care is being provided outside of those rural areas because of the (obstetrics) units that have closed in several of our rural hospitals or have been consolidated,” said state Rep. Anita Somani, D-Dublin.
Committee members noted the comprehensive impacts inaccessibility of health care in rural areas has on health care in the state.
“Although I do not live in or represent a rural area, there will be ripple effects throughout the state in terms of accessing health care, as well as potential cost increases due to lack of early access or prevention,” said state Rep. Karen Brownlee, D-Symmes Twp.
Vanderhoff said that while he feels there’s “very little flexibility” in using the funds outside of what has already been outlined in the funding application, he believes the Rural Health Innovation Hub/Clinically Integrated Networks funding could have room for change, as indicated by discussions with the Trump administration and those overseeing the rural health program.
“We have been able to … actually have some conversations already with them about, well, but can some of this help some of the more challenged rural hospitals that maybe just need a little leg up, so that they’re in a position, existentially, to be able to participate in a hub, or a clinically integrated network,” Vanderhoff said.
The health director did acknowledge that the funds aren’t enough to assure a sustainable longterm future for rural hospitals in the state.
His comments aligned with other legislators and rural advocates who have said the money is not nearly enough to offset other federal funding cuts and increases in costs for health care.
“I do think it offers, though, a real opportunity and incentive for many of them to enter into a partnered and collaborative approach to changing their paradigm of care in rural Ohio,” Vanderhoff said.
For the first year, the director said the state will have to “stay nimble,” and work without flexibility on the programs specifically noted in their application, in the hopes the work will merit further flexibility later.
“I think we’re going to have to push hard on these, show that Ohio can get things done and put ourselves into a position to get the opportunity to maybe get more or at least to have flexibility because it’s evident that Ohio has its game going,” Vanderhoff said.
Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.