Ohio Planning to Shift Medicaid Mental Health Match Responsibility From Local Boards to State

Ohio legislators are considering provisions in the 2012-2013 biennial budget that would significantly change the state’s mental health services delivery system by shifting the responsibility for Medicaid matching funds for mental health services. In this proposal, the state would assume responsibility for paying Medicaid match from the 50 local Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health (ADAMH) boards. The local boards had asked the state to assume the Medicaid match responsibility in August 2010 because demand for community-based services had increased, but state funding had not. Many of the 50 local boards were projecting that in fiscal year . . .