Ohio Medicaid recipients who get their first Covid vaccine shot between now and Sept. 15 will receive a $100 gift card, the state’s managed care organization announced this week.
It previously had been offering $50 to those who received their first dose by Aug. 15, but the timeline was extended and the reward boosted in an effort to get shots into low-income Ohioans.
While 45% of Ohioans had received their first shot by May, the number was about half for Medicaid recipients. Studies have shown hourly workers have been left behind in the state’s vaccine push.
As Ohio health officials warn of the dangers and probability of contracting Covid, especially the delta variant, among those who are unvaccinated, public health outreach campaigns and novel reward incentives have been deployed to boost Ohio’s vax rate, which has become stubbornly sluggish this summer.
“The effort has taken on new urgency as Ohio continues to lag most other states in vaccination rates and as the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, believed to be significantly more contagious than other variants, spreads,” the Ohio Association of Health Plans said in a statement.
Unvaccinated people account for 99% of recent deaths and 97% of hospitalizations.
Ohio Medicaid recipients can also schedule a free ride to a vaccine appointment.
This article appears in Jul 14-27, 2021.
