51st House District — House Bill 461 Sponsor Testimony, Economic and Workforce Development

Summary

Ohio State Representative Sara P. Carruthers gave sponsor testimony on House Bill 461 to the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee on November 17, 2021. The testimony says Ohio's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds would be allocated to nursing homes under the bill. It lists lower occupancy, high staffing costs with agency staffing that can cost twice as much, continuing personal protection equipment costs, and added training, testing and data reporting costs. It adds that the Medicaid rate does not account for the additional pandemic costs, and that an amendment submitted to the Chairman's office clarifies current language in the bill.

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“51st House District — House Bill 461 Sponsor Testimony, Economic and Workforce Development.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-11-17-econ-workforce-dev-testimony-rep-carruthershb461sponsor134t-49478380ed/, SHA-256 1fd04f091b35c788d1d2557e2d005f832492d3ccf1d593b77f904a55000431c7.

Full text

51st House District Committees
Portions of Butler County, including -Behavioral Health & Recovery Supports (Chair)-
Hamilton and Fairfield, Ross Township and -Finance-
portions of Fairfield, Hanover and St. Clair -Families, Aging & Human Services-
townships
Commissions/Councils/Boards
Columbus Office -Early Childhood Advisory Council-
Vern Riffe Center ~Ohio Arts Council~
77 S. High Street, 13th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
(614) 644-6721
(800) 282-0253 Sara P. Carruthers
Rep51@ohiohouse.gov Ohio State Representative
www.ohiohouse.gov

House Bill 461 Sponsor Testimony
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee
November 17, 2021

Chairman Edwards, Vice Chairwoman Powell, Ranking Member Upchurch and members of the
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
speak on House Bill 461.

We all know nursing homes faced difficult situations throughout the pandemic. This bill seeks to
address and alleviate some of those financial concerns. Ohio’s American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) funds would be allocated to nursing homes in order to help them.

Some of the significant impacts:

 Occupancy remains lower;

 Staffing costs are high, especially with increased use of agency staffing that can cost
twice as much;

 The additional costs of personal protection equipment remain;

 Additional training, testing, and data reporting have increased costs.

The Medicaid rate does not account for the additional costs of the pandemic. The cost-based
portion of the formula is from costs that occurred prior to the pandemic.

I’m sure everyone has an opinion on where the ARPA monies should go, but I feel the Ohioans
in nursing homes need functioning efficient and effective stays that are safe.
Please review the graph below to see how the nursing home are dong related to employment.
There is an amendment that I’ve submitted to the Chairman’s office that makes clarification to
the current language that is in House Bill 461.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I would happy to answer any
questions.

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