Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks' asks for your support to Protect Ohio's Future by participating in the
Campaign to PROTECT Ohio's Future
OHIO SFY 2006-2007 BUDGET OVERVIEW
The Campaign to Protect Ohio’s Future, a coalition of 370 health, human services, primary and secondary education and higher education organizations calls on Ohio Legislators to: protect Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens by restoring or adequately funding vital services through a responsible budget that has - as its primary priority - to meet basic human needs and provide sufficient funds to invest in Ohio’s future.
Wealthiest Ohioans Gain Most from Proposed Tax Changes;
Low- and Middle-Income Families, on Average, Save Little or Nothing
Monday, March 7, 2005
An analysis of many elements of Governor Bob Taft s tax proposal reveals that the proposal would provide large tax cuts to the wealthiest Ohioans, while providing little or no savings for low-income Ohioans and would shift the cost of funding of public services away from the wealthiest forty percent of Ohioans and to the bottom sixty percent of Ohio taxpayers (who earn up to $43,000 a year). When the proposal is fully phased in, the top one percent of taxpayers on average would see a $7,076 reduction in their taxes, a tax break that amounts to 1.1 percent of their $643,000 average income. In contrast, the lowest 20 percent of taxpayers, with annual incomes under $16,000, would see an overall tax increase of
$63 on average. The second 20 percent, with incomes up to $28,000, would see an overall tax increase of $68 on average, and the middle 20 percent, with incomes up to $43,000, would see an overall tax increase of $12 on average.
To view the full report, click here.
Ohio Family Coverage Coalition (DRAFT)
Save Medicaid for working parents, dental and vision services, and disability medical assistance for Ohio's most vulnerable people.
25,000 working parents who earn wages BELOW the poverty line will have their health coverage taken away from them. 15,000 medication dependent adults with almost no income will lose their medical care and prescription drug coverage. 800,000 adults on Medicaid, including the aged and disabled, will lose their dental and vision services.
THESE CUTS ARE NOT FAIR AND WILL COST MORE MONEY THAN THEY SAVE!
Who will be affected by these cuts? YOU WILL.
Employers of low-income parents face greater absenteeism and turnover from uninsured employees.
Hospitals and other providers give more uncompensated care and pass some costs to other payers.
Insured people face higher insurance premiums as a result.
Ohio’s economy loses from cutting Medicaid spending. Every $1 of state spending cuts costs Ohio $3.15 in lost business activity in addition to lost jobs, spending, and declining state income tax revenue.
What can you do?
The House Finance Committee begins hearings on the budget on March 1st. Call, write, or visit your state representative TODAY (www.legislature.state.oh.us) and urge him or her to RESTORE MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR LOW-WAGE WORKING PARENTS, as well as Disability Medical Assistance, and dental and vision services for all adults on Medicaid. in the ’06-’07 state budget.
Call or Write Your Legislators Today!
Contact your legislators SOON! Please also contact:
Representative James Hoops, Chair of the House Finance Committee
Representative James Hoops, Ph: (614) 466-3760
Locate your
legislator, or go to
www.legislature.state.oh.us
In addition to insisting that
legislators act responsibly by Medicaid, DMA, and other programs, please also
urge them to create a fair and equitable funding system.
For more
information, contact Cathy Levine, 614-253-4340,
[email protected]; Col Owens, 513-362-2841, Deborah Nebel,
216-241-8422, [email protected]
HEALTH CARE
The Campaign OPPOSES the following provisions:
Elimination of health care for 25,000 working parents
Elimination of dental and vision coverage to 800,000 adults
Continued elimination of psychological services to 12,000 adults
Elimination of Disability Medical Assistance to 15,000 adults
Cuts in funding for the Bureau of Children with Medical Handicaps
Cuts in funding for Child and Family Health Services
Freezing ODH funding for HIV/AIDS health services resulting in waiting lists
The Campaign SUPPORTS the following provisions:
CHIP eligibility remaining at 200% of poverty
Coverage for pregnant women at 150% of poverty
Funding for the ABC ( Access to Better Care Initiative ) for children’s behavioral health
REBALANCING LONG TERM CARE
The Campaign OPPOSES the following provisions:
Inadequate funding for PASSPORT that creates waiting lists for older adults
Inadequate funding for Adult Protective Services
Inadequate funding for Senior Community Services that continues waiting lists for older adults needing basic assistance such as home delivered meals
The Campaign SUPPORTS the following long term options for seniors:
Medicaid waiver for assisted living to allow approximately 1,800 older adults who would otherwise be in nursing homes to live more independently in a less expensive setting
EARLY CARE AND PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
The Campaign OPPOSES the following provisions:
Inadequate funding for primary and secondary education
Changes in the "cost of doing business factor" resulting in funding losses for 40 counties
Elimination of the Medicaid/Community Alternative Funding System (CAFS) without a plan to continue, and fund these vital services for children with disabilities.
Removing the cap on co-pays for families earning more than 150% of federal poverty level
Limiting provider reimbursement rates to only the 60th percentile of the market rate.
Oppose the reduction of early learning opportunities for 6,000 3 and 4 year old children.
Oppose the use of TANF as the only source of funding for the early learning initiative
The Campaign SUPPORTS the following provisions:
Increased eligibility for preschool to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Using 2003 data for market rate reimbursement schedule.
Increased eligibility for child care from 150% to 185% of poverty
Expansion of all-day kindergarten in 52 new districts
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Campaign OPPOSES the following provision:
Cuts to local governments of $112 million in ’06 and $125 million in ’07. This funding supports fire and police protection, libraries and many health and human service programs at the county, city and township level.
ECONOMIC SECURITY AND SAFETY
The Campaign OPPOSES the following provisions:
Refusal to remove the cap and release reserve funding from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund to provide more affordable housing opportunities
The elimination of the displaced homemaker program that has served 27,000 women since its inception
The Campaign SUPPORTS the following provisions:
Funding for the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food banks to serve 2.7 million low-income households
Increase of 10% in Ohio Works First cash grants to families
TANF demonstration projects to increase opportunities for self-sufficiency
Funding for the Kinship Care Guardianship program that will support 3,000 children in kinship households
TAX REFORM
The Campaign encourages Ohio's Governor and General Assembly to adopt a fair, progressive, diversified system of taxation that eliminates Ohio's structural deficit and provides stable revenues sufficient to fund government services and invest in Ohio's future.
The Governor's tax reform package gives the 1% of Ohioans with average annual incomes of $643,000 a tax cut of $460 million.
The Governor's tax reform package will likely be a tax increase for Ohioans working at low-wage and minimum wage jobs.
The Governor's tax reform package, once fully implemented, results in a $2 billion cut in funding for needed services – more than the state spends for the Departments of Aging, Drug and Alcohol Services, Mental Health, Natural Resources, MRDD, and Corrections combined.
The Governor's corporate tax reform proposal actually raises less money than the current system. Any corporate tax reform should maintain current levels of revenue and should restore a balance between the burden borne by individuals and businesses.
The Campaign supports tax reform that provides sufficient resources to restore the above cuts and that provides funding for programs necessary to invest in Ohio's future.
PDF file,
printable version
The Campaign to Protect Ohio’s Future Co-Chairs Gayle Channing
Tenenbaum and John Corlett contact: 614.222.6555 [email protected]
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of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks.