It is crucial that the state of Ohio does its part to provide adequate support for family physicians who meet population health needs, improve health outcomes, and lower health costs.
Thank you to all who submitted messages to their state representatives last month to support reinstating the 3% increase to the family medicine line item in the state budget. While the increase was not reinstated in the house passed budget, we have a second opportunity to have the funding increase reinstated in the senate. Send a message to your senator today!
As the state biennial budget process continues, it is critical that the Family Practice Appropriation (235519) in the Department of Higher Education budget reinstates the proposed 3% funding increase in order to help family physicians meet population health needs, improve health outcomes, and lower health costs for all of Ohio’s patients.
- The Family Medicine Line provides much-needed funding to help educate and produce family physicians – family physicians that provide patients with a personal medical home and high quality, cost effective care.
- The Family Medicine Line helps train family physicians who locate in areas with need; family physicians tend to distribute themselves to areas of greatest need (rural, inner city areas) in larger numbers than do physicians in other specialties.
- The Family Medicine Line helps produce family physicians who emphasize disease prevention and health maintenance in addition to treating illness (decreasing health care costs by preventing and correcting health issues early before they are more serious and expensive to treat).
- The Family Medicine Line helps train the family physicians who Medicare and Medicaid patients rely upon for their care.
Send a message to your state senator urging them to support funding of the Family Medicine Appropriation in the state budget before the end of today, May 16.
Use the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Speak Out tool to send a message to your senator in a matter of minutes! There is a pre-written message composed and ready to send with space to add your personal story tied to the issue.