Medicaid eligibility is being re-determined in Ohio for the first time in three years. A federal mandate allowed Ohioans to stay enrolled in Medicaid insurance, even if their eligibility had changed, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the federal public health emergency has ended and April marks the end of that protection. More than 200,000 Ohioans are expected to be deemed ineligible and lose their coverage in the next year. The decline in Medicaid enrollment could mean big losses for community health centers, who largely serve low-income patients. Teresa Rios-Bishop, membership director of the Ohio Community Health Center Association, said the impact for centers will be significant. She said many communities are bracing for how this could change their care. “It certainly has a chilling effect for the patients and the health centers themselves,” she said. Nationally, total health center revenue is expected to decrease between four and seven percent, according to George Washington Uni

  An Ohio Doctor has been charged in a fraudulent medical supply scheme that targeted elderly Washington residents. Thomas Andrew Webster, M.D., 50, of Sylvania, Ohio was charged with  one count of Conspiracy to Violate the Anti-Kickback Statue by targeting  elderly Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries throughout Washington and other states, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington's Office. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. “Telemarketing schemes that target and exploit the elderly are especially pernicious because they prey on those who are often most in need of a doctor’s independent judgment that is not tainted or biased by the doctor’s own personal financial interest,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. Medicare and TRICARE provide health insurance coverage for eligible health care services, including, under certain eligibility conditions, for Durable Medical Equipment (DME). DME is