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Increased Medicaid Rates to Take Effect This Month for Ohio Providers

Client Alert

As required by House Bill 33, Ohio’s 2024-2025 operating budget bill, reimbursement rates paid by the Ohio Department of Medicaid will increase for a wide range of providers starting on January 1, 2024. The rate increases total roughly $3.4 billion per year and apply to the following types of providers:

  • Non-institutional providers:
    • Ambulatory surgical centers / dialysis
    • Testing / lab / X-ray / durable medical equipment
    • Physicians / advanced practice registered nurses / physician assistants / clinics / skilled therapy
    • Vision and eye care
  • Community behavioral health providers
  • State plan private duty nursing / home health providers
  • Home and Community Based Services waiver providers:
    • PASSPORT waiver providers
    • Assisted living waiver providers
    • Ohio home care waiver providers
    • MyCare Ohio waiver providers
    • Individual Options waiver
    • Level 1 waiver providers
    • Self-Empowered Life Funding (SELF) waiver providers
  • Department of Developmental Disabilities providers

Beginning on January 1, 2024, the majority of the codes in the Ohio Medicaid fee schedule for non-institutional providers increased by 5% or more. Specifically, there was approximately a 5% increase for physicians, APRNs, PAs, clinics, skilled therapy providers, ambulatory surgical centers, laboratories, dialysis providers, X-ray providers, and DME providers. Additionally, there was a 5.7% dispensing fee rate increase for pharmacies, a 79% rate increase for transportation providers, and a 93% rate increase for dental providers. There was no rate increase for FQHCs. However, there was a 10% baseline rate increase for community behavioral health rates.

The increased reimbursement rates authorized by HB 33 apply to dates of service starting January 1, 2024, and beyond. Note that ODM will reimburse all services based on the date the service was rendered, not the date the provider bills for the service. ODM also reminded providers that, even after the rates are increased due to HB 33, providers must continue to charge their reasonable and customary rates regardless of anticipated reimbursement from the department. ODM’s fee schedules and rates are codified in the Ohio Administrative Code and accessible for providers on ODM’s website.

If you have questions about ODM’s reimbursement rate increases, please contact your local BMD Healthcare Attorneys Daphne Kackloudis at dlkackloudis@bmdllc.com or Ashley Watson at abwatson@bmdllc.com.


Wondering What’s Happening with Telehealth Legislation in Ohio?

In December 2021, Governor DeWine signed into law HB 122, which will expand telehealth services in Ohio. The law takes effect in March 2022 and is in response to more patients relying on telehealth over the past two years during the height of the COVID pandemic, and more providers becoming comfortable with delivering services virtually. Telehealth is now a normalized healthcare delivery system nationwide. Beyond the safety benefits inherent in telehealth services, telehealth has made healthcare more accessible and more affordable for more people.

Ohio Loan Programs to Boost Minority-Owned Businesses

Ohio has created two new loan programs to enhance growth of minority and women owned businesses in Ohio. The Ohio 2022-2023 operating budget includes the Women’s Business Enterprise Loan Program and Ohio Micro-Loan Program.

Supreme Court Upholds CMS Vaccination Mandate for Health Care Providers

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for employers with more than 100 employees (the OSHA ETS) and upheld the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees of health care providers who receive Medicaid or Medicare funding (the CMS rule).

Federal and Ohio Laws on Surprise Billing

Beginning in January 2022, Ohio providers and healthcare facilities will need to comply with both the federal No Surprises Act (“NSA”) and the state surprise billing law (HB 388), which are both designed to protect patients from unexpected medical bills.

New Year, New Laws, Old Form Documents? Exhibit A: Changes in Florida’s Real Estate Contracts

Settling into a New Year often brings renewed energy into setting and pushing new goals of building business relationships, increasing sales, and moving Letters of Intent and negotiations into final, signed agreements. It’s all too easy to grab a form document off the Internet (Google, anyone?), or to pull the last document in your files as a template for your next agreement. However, changes in the law can take effect at the beginning of the calendar year, as well as mid-year or fiscal new year, and sometimes on a random date in between. Your awareness – or lack of awareness – in changes in the law can mean the difference between keeping you and your business operating within the law or putting you at great financial and legal risk for not complying with the law. It can also result in financial and time savings or additional burden in time and costs.