The Ohio House met on July 6 in a rare veto override session, but the much anticipated override of the governor’s veto on freezing Medicaid expansion enrollment failed to materialize. Not having the votes to override, the House did not bring up that particular veto for consideration. The House did reserve the right to revisit the veto override on freezing Medicaid expansion at a later date and can technically override at any time prior to the end of the session on Monday, December 31, 2018.
Governor John Kasich exercised 47 line-item vetoes when he signed the state budget bill on June 30, 2017. Eleven veto overrides did occur and will have to be acted upon by the Ohio Senate prior to going into effect. A three-fifths majority in the Senate will be necessary for final passage. The Senate had scheduled a session to consider override votes on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, but that session was subsequently cancelled.
Ten of the 11 veto overrides impact Medicaid as follows:
- Limits the power of the Controlling Board to determine amounts by which appropriations may be adjusted and to create new funds
- Prohibits Medicaid from covering any new, optional groups unless expressly permitted by statute
- Requires Medicaid to submit any Medicaid payment rate increases to the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee
- Requires Medicaid to set rates for certain neonatal and newborn services at levels equal to 75% of Medicare rates and forces Medicaid to reduces rates for other services to avoid any resulting increase in Medicaid expenditures
- Makes changes in Medicaid payment rates formula for nursing facility services
- Prohibits nursing facilities, as well as home and community-based waiver services, from being added to Medicaid managed care prior to being authorized by legislation
- Delays until Sunday, July 1, 2018, the addition of behavioral health services into managed care
- Requires Medicaid to ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whether the health insuring corporation franchise fee can be increased
- Requires Controlling Board authorization of Medicaid expenditures
- Requires Medicaid to resubmit Healthy Ohio waiver to CMS.