Toward a Healthier Ohio

The Path to Progress

• Make Prescription Drugs More Affordable. Offer discounts to seniors for their prescriptions and help citizens navigate the federal Medicare Part D Plans.
• Ensure Care for Children Most in Need. Fund programs targeted to at-risk and sick kids. Screen newborns for more diseases and disorders for early detection. Protect children's health care from Medicaid cuts.
• Adopt a Comprehensive Wellness and Prevention Plan for Ohio. Work with the private sector and advocacy community to promote detection, proper use of meds, and healthy lifestyles. Teach healthy lifestyles curriculum in grades 1-3. Offer incentives to businesses to implement wellness programs for their employees. Assist in the healthy design of communities with state grants for things like dedicated bike lanes on main roads.
• Protect Providers from Frivolous Lawsuits and Huge Insurance Increases. Limit awards for non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and mandate alternatives to jury trials such as arbitration to get faster, fairer, less expensive resolution to problems.
• Move to Electronic Medical Records to Reduce Errors, Lower Costs, and Save Lives. Implement computerized record keeping that can be accessed by providers around the state to share information accurately, quickly, and securely.
• Reform Ohio's Medicaid System to Ensure Coverage to Those Who Cannot Afford It. Deliver services more efficiently and implement information technology to upgrade Ohio antiquated and inefficient Medicaid records. Make sure the state is purchasing prescription drugs, equipment and services at competitive rates. Open up more options for seniors in need of long-term care.

A Record of Progress

• Kevin co-sponsored Ohio Patient's Bill of Rights, requiring greater accountability from health insurers and establishing an appeals process for people who have been denied benefits by their HMO.
• Working with the Ohio Department of Health, Kevin Coughlin changed the law to ensure that Ohio's newborns are screened for more diseases and disorders.
• Working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, Kevin Coughlin secured more funding for Ohio's children's hospitals.
• Kevin has helped increase funding for children with disabilities, and extend coverage to adults with Cystic Fibrosis.
• Kevin helped pass the state's first-ever discount program for prescription drugs—Ohio's Best Rx—saving Ohio seniors about 30% on their meds.
• Kevin Coughlin is the sponsor of legislation mandating arbitration of medical malpractice claims before they go to trial, weeding out junk lawsuits and protecting our doctors from escalating insurance hikes.
• Ohio has reined in the cost of Medicaid while maintaining essential services to those most in need.
• Kevin has helped to provide more long-term care options for seniors by increasing funding for the PASSPORT home-care program and extending coverage to assisted-living for the first time ever.