Governor DeWine: Medicaid Waiver Submitted to Ease Obstacles to Nursing Home Care

Governor Mike DeWine Tuesday held his daily coronavirus briefing and announced his administration is submitting its first Medicaid waiver to the federal government. If granted it would ease obstacles to access nursing home care; allow services to be provided at alternative locations; and remove staffing level requirements to give providers more flexibility. DeWine says removing restrictions during this pandemic will allow healthcare workers to focus on meeting the needs of Ohioans. Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton also announced that she is issuing a new order to protect first responders. Acton says a new order would share positive COVID-19 name/address info with dispatchers so that first responders can be properly protected when responding to an emergency. Governor DeWine said ” until there is a vaccine, this monster is going to be working around us. When we start opening businesses and schools, it’s gong to be different. What everyone needs to be thinking about is what you will do to keep your employees and customers safe when you reopen.” There are 7,280 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 324 deaths in Ohio.