HB 289: Establish Ohio Health Care Plan for universal health coverage
The bill establishes a universal health care plan to provide affordable coverage to all residents. The plan will be administered by the Ohio Health Care Agency, which will work to control health care costs and improve health outcomes. The agency will be headed by the Ohio Health Care Board, consisting of 15 voting members elected from 7 regions across the state. Each region will have a regional health advisory committee to provide input and guidance. The board will be responsible for setting policies and making decisions to improve the health care system. The plan will include a comprehensive benefit package, including prescription drug coverage, and will be funded through a combination of state and federal grants.<br>The Ohio Health Care Board is composed of 14 members elected by regional health advisory committees. The board is responsible for overseeing the management of consumer and…
| May. 21, 2025 | Referred to committee: Insurance |
| May. 20, 2025 | Introduced |
As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session
2025-2026
Representatives Rader, Grim
Cosponsors: Representatives Piccolantonio, Brownlee, Rogers, Synenberg, Baker, Brennan, Upchurch, White, E., Lett, Cockley, Abdullahi, Brewer, Mohamed, Denson, Thomas, C., Somani
A BILL
To amend section 109.02 and to enact sections 3920.01, 3920.02, 3920.03, 3920.04, 3920.05, 3920.06, 3920.07, 3920.08, 3920.09, 3920.10, 3920.11, 3920.12, 3920.13, 3920.14, 3920.15, 3920.21, 3920.22, 3920.23, 3920.24, 3920.25, 3920.26, 3920.27, 3920.28, 3920.31, 3920.32, and 3920.33 of the Revised Code to establish and operate the Ohio Health Care Plan to provide universal health care coverage to all Ohio residents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 109.02 be amended and sections 3920.01, 3920.02, 3920.03, 3920.04, 3920.05, 3920.06, 3920.07, 3920.08, 3920.09, 3920.10, 3920.11, 3920.12, 3920.13, 3920.14, 3920.15, 3920.21, 3920.22, 3920.23, 3920.24, 3920.25, 3920.26, 3920.27, 3920.28, 3920.31, 3920.32, and 3920.33 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 109.02
The attorney general is the chief law officer for the state and all its departments and shall be provided with adequate office space in Columbus. Except as provided in division (E) of section 120.06 and in sections 101.55, 107.13, and 3517.152 to 3517.157, and 3920.04 of the Revised Code, no state officer or board, or head of a department or institution of the state shall employ, or be represented by, other counsel or attorneys at law. The attorney general shall appear for the state in the trial and argument of all civil and criminal causes in the supreme court in which the state is directly or indirectly interested. When required by the governor or the general assembly, the attorney general shall appear for the state in any court or tribunal in a cause in which the state is a party, or in which the state is directly interested. Upon the written request of the governor, the attorney general shall prosecute any person indicted for a crime.
Sec. 3920.01
As used in this chapter:
(A) "Health care facility" means any facility, except a health care practitioner's office, that provides preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, acute convalescent, rehabilitation, mental health, intellectual disability, intermediate care, or skilled nursing services.
(B) "Provider" means a hospital or other health care facility, and a physician, podiatrist, dentist, pharmacist, chiropractor, or other health care personnel, licensed, certified, accredited, or otherwise authorized in this state to furnish health care services.
Sec. 3920.02
(A)
(1) There is hereby created the Ohio health care plan, which shall be administered by the Ohio health care agency under the direction of the Ohio health care board.
(2) The Ohio health care plan shall provide universal and affordable health care coverage for all residents of this state, consisting of a comprehensive benefit package that includes benefits for prescription drugs. The Ohio health care plan shall work simultaneously to control health care costs, control health care spending, achieve measurable improvement in health care outcomes, increase all parties' satisfaction with the health care system, implement policies that strengthen and improve culturally and linguistically sensitive care, and develop an integrated health care database to support health care planning.
(B)
There is hereby created the Ohio health care agency. The Ohio health care agency shall administer the Ohio health care plan and is the sole agency authorized to accept applicable grants-in-aid from the federal and state government, using the funds in order to secure full compliance with provisions of state and federal law and to carry out the purposes of this chapter. All grants-in-aid accepted by the Ohio health care agency shall be deposited into the Ohio health care fund established under section 3920.09 of the Revised Code.
(C)
Sections 101.82 and 101.83 of the Revised Code do not apply to the Ohio health care agency.
Sec. 3920.03
(A)
There is hereby created the Ohio health care board. The Ohio health care board shall consist of fifteen voting members, consisting of the director of health as an ex officio voting member and fourteen members elected in accordance with this section.
(B)
For purposes of representation on the Ohio health care board, the state shall be divided into seven regions each composed of designated counties as follows:
- Region 1: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain;
- Region 2: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood;
- Region 3: Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton, Washington;
- Region 4: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, Warren;
- Region 5: Crawford, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, Union, Wyandot;
- Region 6: Ashland, Carroll, Columbiana, Holmes, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Wayne;
- Region 7: Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby.
(C)
(1) The health commissioner of the most populous county in each region shall convene a meeting of all county and city health commissioners in the region within ninety days following the effective date of this section. If there are two or more health districts located wholly or partially in the most populous county of the region, the health commissioner of the health district with the largest territorial jurisdiction in that county shall convene the meeting of all county and city health commissioners within ninety days following the effective date of this section.
(2) At the meeting called pursuant to division (C) (1) of this section, the county and city health commissioners in each region shall elect one resident from each county in the region to represent the county on a regional health advisory committee established for that region. The county and city health commissioners also shall set a date, not sooner than one hundred days and not later than one hundred ten days after the effective date of this section, for the initial meeting of the regional health advisory committee.
(3) Following the initial meetings of county and city health commissioners called pursuant to division (C) (1) of this section, the county and city health commissioners in each region shall convene a meeting every two years to elect representatives to the regional health advisory committee. Each biennial meeting shall be held within five days of the same day of the same month as the initial meeting.
(4) Each representative elected under division (C) (2) or (3) of this section shall hold office for two years, starting on the date of the representative's election. Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which a representative is elected shall hold office for the remainder of the predecessor's term.
(D)
(1) At its initial meeting on the date set pursuant to division (C) (2) of this section, each regional health advisory committee shall elect a chairperson from among the representatives to the committee. At the initial meeting, each committee's representatives shall elect two residents from the region to represent that region as members of the Ohio health care board. One of the two residents elected from each region to serve on the Ohio health care board shall be a resident of the region's most populous county and the other shall be a resident of any county in the region other than the region's most populous county.
Except for the elections to the Ohio health care board at the initial meeting of each regional health advisory committee, each resident elected to the board shall be elected to a two-year term of office. At the initial meeting, the resident from the most populous county in the region shall be elected to a term of three years.
(2) Annually, beginning in the second year following the initial elections to the Ohio health care board, the chairperson of each regional health advisory committee shall convene a meeting within five calendar days of the same date of the same month as the initial meeting of that regional health advisory committee to elect a resident from the region to serve as a member of the Ohio health care board. The regional health advisory committee shall elect a resident of a county as is necessary to meet the representation requirements set by division (D) (1) of this section. No individual may serve as a member of the Ohio health care board for more than four consecutive terms.
(3) In addition to meeting for the election of Ohio health care board members, each regional health advisory committee shall meet as necessary to fulfill any functions and responsibilities assigned under sections 3920.01 to 3920.15 of the Revised Code. With the exception of the initial meeting described in division (D) (1) of this section, each meeting shall be held at the call of the chairperson and as may be provided by procedures adopted by the regional health advisory committee.
(E)
(1) The director of health shall set the time, place, and date for the initial meeting of the Ohio health care board and shall preside over the Ohio health care board's initial meeting. The initial meeting shall be held not sooner than one hundred fifteen days and not later than one hundred twenty-five days after the effective date of this section.
(2) The members of the Ohio health care board annually shall elect a member of the board to serve as chairperson at meetings of the board. Meetings shall be held upon the call of the chairperson and as provided by procedures prescribed by the Ohio health care board. Two-thirds of the members of the Ohio health care board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at meetings of the board. Decisions at meetings of the Ohio health care board shall be reached by majority vote of those present.
(3) All meetings of the Ohio health care board are open to the public unless questions of patient confidentiality arise. The Ohio health care board may go into closed executive session with regard to issues related to confidential patient information. The fourteen members of the Ohio health care board elected by the regional health advisory committees shall receive an annual salary and benefits established in accordance with division (J) of section 124.15 of the Revised Code.
(F)
The seven regional health advisory committees shall act as advisory bodies to the Ohio health care board, representing their individual regions. The regional health advisory committees shall oversee the management of consumer and provider complaints originating in their respective regions and shall hold a hearing on all such complaints. The regional health advisory committees shall offer assistance to resolve consumer and provider disputes and shall seek the agreement of all parties to the dispute to submit the dispute to negotiation or binding arbitration. A regional health advisory committee shall transfer any dispute that is not resolved at the regional level to the director of the Ohio health care agency's department of consumer affairs within six months of the filing of the complaint; however, the committee may vote to transfer individual disputes at an earlier date.
(G)
(1) If a vacancy occurs on the Ohio health care board for any reason, resulting in a region being without full representation on the board, that region's health advisory committee shall elect a resident of that region to fill the vacancy. Any resident elected to fill a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the departing member's term. The health advisory committee shall elect a resident of a county as necessary to meet the representation requirements set by division (D) (1) of this section.
(2) A serving member of the Ohio health care board shall continue to serve following the expiration of the member's term until a successor takes office or a period of ninety days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.
(H)
(1) The members and staff of the Ohio health care board and employees of the Ohio health care agency, and their immediate families, are prohibited from having any pecuniary interest in any business with a contract, or in negotiation for a contract, with either the Ohio health care board or Ohio health care agency, or in any business that is subject to the Ohio health care board's oversight. The members and staff of the Ohio health care board and employees of the Ohio health care agency shall not knowingly receive remuneration for health care services of any kind during their term of service or employment. The members and staff of the Ohio health care board and employees of the Ohio health care agency, and their immediate families, shall not knowingly receive consulting fees of any kind from any source that is directly or indirectly related to the delivery of health care services pursuant to the Ohio health care plan. The members and staff of the Ohio health care board and employees of the Ohio health care agency, and their immediate families, are prohibited from knowingly owning stock in, and from investing in mutual funds holding stock in, pharmaceutical companies, health maintenance organizations, health insuring corporations, or other businesses that relate directly or indirectly to the delivery of health care services, unless the stock or mutual funds are in a blind trust. As used in division (H) (1) of this section, "blind trust" means an independently managed trust in which the beneficiary has no management rights and in which the beneficiary is not given notice of alterations in or other dispositions of the stock, mutual funds, or other property subject to the trust.
(2) No member of the Ohio health care board other than the director of health shall knowingly hold any other salaried public position with the state, either elected or appointed, during the member's tenure on the board. The director of health shall receive no salary or benefits by virtue of the director's service on the Ohio health care board.
(3) The chairperson of the Ohio health care board may conduct hearings to determine if a violation of division (H) (1) or (2) of this section has occurred. If the alleged violator is the chairperson, the director of health may conduct the hearings. If the director of health is the chairperson, the member of the board not alleged to have committed a violation with the greatest seniority may hold the hearings. Notice of any hearing, the conduct of the hearing, and all other matters relating to the holding of the hearing shall be governed by Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. If a member of the Ohio health care board, or of the member's immediate family, is found to have violated division (H) (1) of this section, or a member of the Ohio health care board is found to have violated division (H) (2) of this section, the chairperson of the Ohio health care board, the director of health, or senior board member, as applicable, shall remove the member from the Ohio health care board. If a staffer of the Ohio health care board or an employee of the Ohio health care agency, or a member of the staffer's or employee's immediate family, is found to have violated division (H) (1) of this section, the Ohio health care board or Ohio health care agency shall take appropriate disciplinary action against the staffer or employee, which action may include termination of employment.
(I)
Sections 101.82 and 101.83 of the Revised Code do not apply to the Ohio health care board and the regional health advisory committees.
Section 2
That existing section 109.02 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.
Section 3
In the first two years following the effective date of sections 3920.01 to 3920.33 of the Revised Code, the Ohio Health Care Board shall prepare for the delivery of universal, affordable health care coverage to all eligible Ohio residents and individuals employed in Ohio. The Ohio Health Care Board shall appoint a Transition Advisory Group to assist with the transition to the provision of care under the Ohio Health Care Plan. The Transition Advisory Group shall include a broad selection of experts in health care finance and administration, providers from a variety of medical fields, representatives of Ohio's counties, employers and employees, representatives of hospitals and clinics, and representatives from state regulatory bodies. Members of the Transition Advisory Group shall be reimbursed by the Ohio Health Care Agency for necessary and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members.