A former top U.S. Medicaid official spoke at the City Club of Cleveland today, noting Ohio has done a pretty good job with expanding health care coverage to lower income residents. But Cindy Mann says there's more work to be done.
"In one year Ohio was successful in dropping the uninsurance rate for people in Ohio by 38 percent," Mann said. "That's a great achievement both those individuals in the families but also for the healthcare providers that serve them, for the rest of the payers that pick up the costs when we don't have insurance."
Mann says there are still 834 thousand households in Ohio that remain uninsured. Many would qualify for Medicaid or subsidized plans under the Obamacare exchanges.
When asked about the future, Mann said Medicaid proponents should keep track of their successes. That's because, she says, Ohio's lawmakers are exploring changes to the program in the coming year.
Click here to watch the entire Medicaid discussion at the City Club of Cleveland.