06/15/2023

Ohio Aging Advocacy Coalition Urges Legislature to Include Healthy Aging Grants in State Budget Bill

Yesterday, the Ohio Aging Advocacy Coalition (OAAC) released a press statement in support of the Ohio Department of Aging’s request to include Healthy Aging Grants to Local Partners (AGECD14) in the state budget bill, Substitute House Bill 33. OAAC, a coalition of older adult and caregiver advocacy organizations, urged the Ohio Senate to reinstate the Healthy Aging Grants in legislation ahead of a Finance Hearing in which omnibus amendment– which did not include AGECD14– was accepted before reporting the bill out of committee. 

The $40M in Healthy Aging Grant funding was proposed by Governor DeWine in the executive budget, maintained by the Ohio House of Representatives, and removed in the Ohio Senate substitute bill released last week. 

“The Healthy Aging Grants are a proactive step that will reduce dependence on the Medicaid program,” said Susan Wallace, President/CEO of LeadingAge Ohio. “The grants achieve this by supporting preventative and evidence-based interventions for older Ohioans before they experience a health event that requires medical care. It builds on Ohio’s unique strengths, bolstering our system of county levy programs to keep seniors in the communities they have called home.”

To read the complete press release, click here. OAAC members joined a broad coalition of business and advocacy organizations, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, County Commissioners Association of Ohio, Ohio Municipal League, and others, in signing letters to the Ohio Senate President and Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives urging that the grants be reinstated in the state budget.