Mayor from Ohio. (Getty image file photo.)
Each morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio, the country and the world that catches our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye and have published it here.
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Catching our eyes
• Medicare. Jo Ingles of the Statehouse News Bureau reports: “Report: Over Half a Million Ohioans Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Over the Next Decade.“
A up-to-date report shows that recent cuts to Ohio’s Medicaid funding will force more than half a million Ohioans out of the program over the next decade and threaten to close 31 Ohio hospitals and clinics.
Rep. Ashley Bryant Bailey (R-Cincinnati) said nearly 200,000 Ohioans have already lost care due to Medicaid cuts, and another 290,000 will likely be removed from Medicaid in the next decade…
A report by the group Protect Our Care shows that 31 Ohio hospitals, clinics and health care providers are at risk of closing or announcing cuts. This will enhance stress in emergency departments, and rural patients will have to travel to get medical care.
• Tools. Anna Staver of Cleveland.com reports: “Could Ohio repeat the mistakes behind its biggest public corruption scandal?“
After Ohio’s largest public corruption case resulted in the jailing of GOP House Speaker Larry Householder, state lawmakers rebuilt the wall between utilities and the power plants that generate our electricity.
But as demand for electricity grows and electricity bills continue to rise, two Republican lawmakers say nuclear power should become an exception.
• Data centers. Victoria Moorwood, Haley BeMiller, Kelly Byer, Samantha Hendrickson and Maria DeVito of the Cincinnati Enquirer report: “Amid criticism and “quiet” deals, has Ohio moved on to data centers?“
Ohioans are increasingly concerned about the growing number of data centers and their impact on local resources and the environment. Citizen groups have organized across the state, leading some communities to impose momentary bans on up-to-date data center construction.
State lawmakers are debating how to regulate the industry, taking into account issues such as tax breaks and environmental impacts. Supporters say data centers provide significant construction jobs and tax revenue to local economies.
• Mental and behavioral health. Samantha Wildow of the Dayton Daily News reports: “Ohio lawmakers call for behavioral health screening, push for regulation of health plans and insurers“
Most health insurance plans must cover free annual physicals and some preventive care, and lawmakers want the same for Ohio’s mental and behavioral health.
State lawmakers discussed bills affecting health insurance before the Ohio House of Representatives Insurance Committee during its recent meeting, including hearing testimony from sponsors on a bill to cover annual behavioral health checkups.
• Payout fund. CNN reports: “The Trump administration is creating a $1.776 billion fund for the president’s allies after he dropped a lawsuit against the IRS“
The Justice Department announced Monday a $1.776 billion fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump who say the previous administration unfairly targeted them.
It’s an unprecedented move that would allow the president’s administration to pay his supporters at a government agency he controls with taxpayer money.
Its creation came after Trump withdrew a $10 billion lawsuit alleging that the Internal Revenue Service failed to protect Trump and the Trump Organization from the unauthorized leak of their tax returns.
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