Ohio Health Issues Poll-Medicaid expansion
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Gail Myers513-368-9074 (cell)
513-941-8633 (office)
Kate Keller513-458-6616 (office)
Clear majority of Ohioans support Medicaid expansion
CINCINNATI. JUNE 14, 2013.The 2013 Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) found that more than 6 in 10 Ohio adults (63 percent) support Medicaid expansion in the state. Ohio’s governor supports the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio, and the state legislature is currently considering options for expansion. OHIP, funded by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati asked, “Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose expanding Medicaid to provide health insurance to more low-income uninsured adults?” The majority of Ohio adults, crossing all Ohio demographic groups and geographies tracked by OHIP, favored expansion. A majority of registered voters in Ohio favored expansion as well.
“The Health Foundation supports the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio because we believe that it will have a positive impact on the health of uninsured Ohioans who will be newly covered by Medicaid,” says CEO Jim Schwab. “We also believe that expansion of Medicaid will have a positive impact on Ohio’s economy. This positive impact was validated in an economic impact study that the Foundation helped underwrite earlier this year. The OHIP findings show that the majority of Ohioans also support the expansion.”
“Public opinion is an important consideration for policymakers as they weigh options for improving the Medicaid program to ensure that it increases access to care in a cost-effective and efficient manner,” said Amy Rohling McGee, president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. “Without a Medicaid expansion, a substantial number of Ohioans, 370,000 by 2017, are projected to have no access to subsidized health coverage and will likely be uninsured,” McGee added. Rob Reifsnyder, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Cincinnati says, “Medicaid expansion would move us toward achieving the Bold Goals for our region around health – people reporting excellent or very good health and having a usual place to go for health care.”
The issue of Medicaid expansion is politically charged. More than 8 in 10 Democrats (82 percent) support expansion, and more than half of Independents support it (52 percent). However, more than half of Republicans (55 percent) are opposed to Medicaid expansion.
More information about Ohioans’ support of the Medicaid expansion can be found on the survey website at
About the Ohio Health Issues Poll
The 2013Ohio Health Issues Poll (OHIP) is funded by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. OHIP was conducted May 19-June 2, 2013,by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 866 adults from throughout Ohio was interviewed by telephone. This included interviews conducted by landline telephonesand cell phones. In 95 of 100 cases, the statewide estimates will be accurate to ±3.3%. There are other sources of variation inherent in public opinion studies, such as non-response, question wording or context effects that can introduce error or bias.For more information about the Ohio Health Issues Poll, please visit If you have questions aboutthe data in this document, please contact Jennifer Chubinski, director of community research,at 513-458-6608 or .
About The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati invests in programs and activities that improve health in Cincinnati and 20 surrounding counties in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Our vision is that we will be one of the healthiest regions in the country. For more information, visit our website at
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