Number on Medicaid drops in Ohio

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The number of people on Ohio’s Medicaid rolls has dropped for the first time in three years.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the number of Ohioans covered by the tax-funded health care program for the poor and disabled decreased by 1,600 from November to December. That’s a tiny amount compared with the total enrollment of more than 2.1 million.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Benjamin Johnson credits economic improvements for the change but says it won’t have a significant effect on the financial concerns the state’s Medicaid program is facing.

The Governor’s Office of Health Transformation says Ohio’s share of Medicaid costs is projected to increase $1.6 billion next year, largely because of a loss of federal stimulus funding.