The human cost of the crackdown
The Dispatch opinion “Gov. DeWine’s Medicaid metrics are costing my kid the care he needs,” June 12 should be mandatory reading for every Ohio legislator and congressperson.
This piece exposes the impact of current changes made in the name of preventing Medicaid fraud on a child’s needed services.
Recognizing that 3 million Ohioans rely on Medicaid, including 1.2 million children, reforms addressing waste, fraud, and abuse also need to maintain focus on providing accessible, affordable care.
State and federal officials are scurrying to find $1 trillion in savings from Medicaid waste, fraud, abuse – $100 billion per year for 10 years – per the Big, Beautiful Bill requirements.
By targeting this Medicaid cut to pay for the tax cut in the bill, Congress made it hard to believe people’s benefits or eligibility won’t change. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress’ fiscal watchdog, estimated $37 billion in improper payments last year – not $100 billion – for fraud and billing errors.
The author’s lack of success in finding a direct support professional for her son’s care after “months of interviews, paperwork, assessment, treatment plans, phone calls and texts” highlights how a single action against fraud, pausing new care provider approvals in Ohio, impacts a real person’s benefit.
If a social worker is struggling with existing requirements, think about the impact of more requirements on less knowledgeable persons.
Marty Kress, Columbus
Slam on Acton doesn’t work
Over the past 40-plus years, the Dispatch has published dozens of letters to the editor I have written, and for the most part, I have avoided endorsing or opposing any particular candidate for public office, and I do not intend to start doing so now.
Having said that, I must comment on an ad I’ve been seeing on TV lately which suggests that the then-director of the Ohio Department of Health and current gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton acted foolishly or irresponsibly during the Covid-19 pandemic when she shut down businesses and required mask-wearing and social distancing to stop the spread of the disease.
Every action Acton took back then was correct and appropriate. I suggest the Ramaswamy campaign come up with something else for which to criticize her – if they can.
Mike Adamkosky, Columbus
Happy Father’s Day
Recently the state of New York legislators passed a bill that would replace the word mother by “gestating parent” and word father by “non-gestating parent.”
These changes were introduced to deal with changes in the 21st century family life including same sex marriage and surrogacy arrangements.
Thank God I live in Ohio. To all non-gestating parents, happy Father’s Day.
George A. Elmaraghy, Columbus
Back to square one
Four months of war with Iran with the closure of the Hormuz Strait, high oil prices, inflation, and we are getting back toward the Obama-era Iran Nuclear Deal we had in 2015. The same deal that current President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018 and now claims victory for in 2026.
The 2015 deal gave us continuous monitoring access to Iran’s nuclear supplies, reduction of Iranian enriched uranium stockpile and removal of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and plutonium-producing reactors.
What does the Trump deal give us? An “understanding” on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, which was open until the president attacked Iran as interference for Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and possibly now under stricter Iranian control. I’m thinking the Obama deal was better, and less costly in money, military assets and lives.
Well, we still have the Trump UFC cage fight to get us through, as well as the Freedom 250 Trump rally starring the president and two singers.
Wow.
John Dirina, Columbus
Truth-challenged sycophants
Recent opinion pieces have compared the mental faculties of presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, now both octogenarians.
One difference not mentioned: Biden, a seasoned public servant, surrounded himself with competent grown-ups who collectively guided public policy in the best interests of the American public. They produced a far-from-perfect, but orderly administration.
In contrast, Trump relies on his own impulsive and chaotic instincts with nobody to challenge them. He has surrounded himself with incompetent and truth-challenged sycophants who work to keep their boss happy with their fealty to him and him alone. The result is chaos from one man’s actions.
True leaders surround themselves with a competent team of people to help keep them in check and serve a greater purpose. The U.S. Constitution, with its checks and balances, was built around this principle.
Michael Williford, Athens
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: GOP’s war on Medicaid fraud hurting the wrong people | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Letters to the Editor, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
