Ohio House approves veterans benefits bill

By Marc Kovac | December 2, 2015 at 12:02a.m.

COLUMBUS

The Ohio House approved legislation that would require state officials to check whether needy Ohioans are eligible for federal health-care benefits due to past military service.

Senate Bill 10 passed on a vote of 94-0 on Tuesday. Pending concurrence from the Ohio Senate on an amendment added in the House, the legislation will head to Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his signature.

The bill would direct the Ohio Department of Medicaid to check information on residents receiving medical assistance to determine if any are active-service members or veterans who may qualify for other federal benefits.

Those who do qualify would then be contacted and encouraged to work with local veterans service commissions to tap into the federal programs.

Eligible residents would not be forced from the Medicaid system. Instead, they would be informed of the other benefits and given the option to switch.

The legislation is comparable to laws passed elsewhere that proponents say have effectively shifted veterans from state-level programs to federal ones, saving state dollars in the process.

Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, who serves as chairman of the committee that considered the legislation, said the state of Washington implemented similar law changes more than a decade ago. Since then, upward of 5,000 veterans have been linked with benefits, saving the state $30 million in the process.

“With Ohio having the sixth-largest veterans population, the senators believe that this will be beneficial to our state,” Johnson said, adding later, “In my opinion, this is a very good bill that will further enhance Ohio’s already excellent record of supporting our veteran community.”