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State of Ohio Health Insurance Options

For Ohio residents who cannot acquire individual or group health insurance because of its cost or denial due to a pre-existing condition, the state of Ohio offers several options. There are three different groups--children, pregnant women and high-risk uninsured individuals--who are eligible to participate in the state's health insurance options. Many of these programs have income and resource requirements.

  1. Children, Pregnant Women and Families

    • Ohio offers three programs for people that fall into this category. They are Healthy Start, Healthy Start Families and the Breast and Cervical Cancer Project. Healthy Start is a program for children and pregnant women whose household income is less than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or FPL. Healthy Start Families is a program for all members of a family whose household income is less than 90 percent of the FPL. Families must include a child who is under 19 years old. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Project is a program that helps women who have been screened for one of these cancers through the Ohio Department of Health and who have been deemed in need of treatment. There are no published income requirements for this program. All income criteria were current as of September 2010.

    Elderly and Disabled

    • The Medicaid for the Aged, Blind and People with Disabilities program helps those whose income is less than 64 percent of the FPL and whose resources are less than $1,500 to $2,250 for an individual or couple, respectively. The Medicare Premium Assistance Program allows aged individuals to get help with payments for Medicare Part B. This may include help with premiums, deductibles and co-pays. Income criteria ranges from under 100 percent of the FPL to under 200 percent, depending on which of the following categories the applicant falls into: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary, Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary, Qualified Individuals or Qualified Working Disabled Individuals. The Medicaid Buy-In for Workers with Disabilities program benefits those whose income is less than 250 percent of the FPL. Those with an income of more than 150 percent of the FPL are required to pay premiums. Applicants for this program must be between the ages of 16 to 64. All income and resource criteria were current as of September 2010.

    Uninsured High-Risk

    • Medical Mutual of Ohio administers the high risk pool plans for the state of Ohio. As of September 2010, Medical Mutual of Ohio has offered two high risk health plans to choose from--a $1,500 deductible plan and a $2,500 deductible plan. In order to be eligible for these programs, applicants must have a pre-existing condition that has barred them from being approved for private health insurance, and they must have been uninsured for a minimum of six months prior to their application.

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