Ohio House Passes Legislation to Strengthen Free Clinics and Give Ohioans More Health Care Options

State Representative Ron Young (R-Leroy Township) has applauded the Ohio House of Representatives’ passage of House Bill 320, which would strengthen the operations of free clinics and allow Medicaid patients to have greater access to health care options.

Specifically, House Bill 320:
• Extends qualified immunity from civil liability for certain volunteer health care services provided to individuals eligible for or receiving Medicaid
• Makes changes to the state’s physician and dentist loan repayment programs
• Creates a volunteer’s certificate for retired nurses
• Designates the month of December as “Free Clinic Appreciation Month”

On the bill, Rep. Young said, “H.B. 320 is part of a state based, mainly privately funded initiative to help those on Medicaid, and other disenfranchised groups, without committing Ohio to long term and very expensive federal programs.”

Groups that have supported H.B. 320 include the Ohio Association of Free Clinics, the Ohio Osteopathic Association, the Ohio State Medical Association, the Ohio Nurses Association, the Ohio Osteopathic Association, and the Ohio Dental Association.

House Bill 320 passed by a vote of 91-1 and will now move to the Ohio Senate.