BY NICK EVANS
Ohio has ceded one of its congressional seats in the coming decade thanks to growth rates that haven’t kept pace with other states around the country. Rep. Jon Cross, R-Kenton, is making a stab at reversing that trend with legislation he’s calling the GROW Ohio Act which aims to attract and then retain college students.
Cross introduced the plan Monday flanked by numerous university presidents. Former Congressman Steve Stivers, who now heads up the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, was on hand to lend his support as well. The idea, encapsulated in the bill’s acronym, is simple: graduating and retaining Ohio’s workforce. But Cross acknowledged the state faces an uphill climb.
“We used to have about 24, maybe, plus or minus, members of Congress,” Cross said. “Today we have 15. That’s all you need to know.”
Cross’ legislation pairs tax breaks with financial aid to ease the path from an Ohio college to an Ohio job. The first tax break goes to businesses offering paid internships or apprenticeships. Cross says they’d be able to write off about a third of those salaries at tax time.
“Those companies are investing in those future employees,” Cross said. “And we want to have this tax credit, this 30% tax credit on those paid wages, not only just as a thank you, but hopefully to offer more internships and more opportunities at the place of business.”
The other tax incentive goes to the workers — zero state income tax for the first three years after graduation. Legislative text hasn’t been released, but Cross described the benefit as one that would show up in an employee’s tax return.
“We will offer you a 100% refundable state income tax year, after year, after year, for the first three years,” Cross said, “as a thank you for living here, learning here and working.”
In terms of financial aid, Cross’ legislation would devote more money to the Ohio College Opportunity Grant specifically to help students who received a two-year degree enroll in a four-year degree program.
He also envisions a merit “scholarship” program open to out of state students. To qualify for one of the 100 $25,000 packages, students would have to be in the top 5% of their graduating class and be pursuing a degree in a STEM field. That aid, however, is a forgivable loan instead of a grant. Grads would get a third forgiven if they stay in Ohio for one year, half if they stay for two, and the funding would be fully forgiven after year three.
Stivers applauded Cross’ proposal.
“We need more people in Ohio. We’ve got to get him to move here,” Stivers said. “And he’s going to start by getting college students here from other states. And it’s not just any college students the best and brightest.”
Ohio State President Kristina Johnson was one of seven school leaders to speak in favor of the measure, and like many of her colleagues she emphasized the importance of creating attractive job prospects for students once they graduate.
“We attract 11,300 more students here than we give to other states, and that’s awesome,” Johnson said. “What this act will do is make sure they stay and thrive in this particular state.”
She noted although Ohio schools out-recruit others, the state as a whole ranks in the bottom third when it comes to residents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
But while Cross’ workforce and higher education effort is built for broad appeal, it’s hard not to notice the partisan edge to many pieces of legislation dominating the agenda in Columbus. Proposals on abortion, trans rights, firearms, COVID-19, and redistricting are all tailored toward partisans, and that might discourage people who fall outside that political camp from moving to Ohio.
Cross downplayed those concerns. He focused on the message his measure sends rather than the General Assembly’s recent track record. Bringing up the legislatures in California and Texas, he argued partisan fights are common around the country, and that it’s more important for Ohio to “get creative” in its pitch to students.
“Alabama is offering four-year free ride scholarships to Alabama, and who the hell wants to go to Alabama?” Cross asked. “I don’t. But there’s a pipeline of students in Ohio that go to Alabama. And so we have to get competitive, we have to step up our game.”
As for how many twenty-somethings are deciding on where to live based on their taxes, Cross admitted he couldn’t speak for every student, but he’d heard positive reactions from those he’d spoken with. He suggested the tax break might be a final nudge toward choosing Ohio, instead of a recent grad’s primary reason.
Cross doesn’t have a dollar figure for his plan, but he acknowledged the price tag legislative researchers put on the bill will likely be big. On the other hand, he argued the money Ohio is losing as students leave the state might outweigh the investment he’s proposing.
Cross suggested the measure will be bipartisan, and he plans to get the ball rolling in the coming year. He hopes to pass the measure as a standalone bill, but noted if there are snags it could eventually be folded into the next two-year budget.
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Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
About 40% of Ohio’s nursing home staff are unvaccinated; mandates blocked for now in court
At Auglaize Acres, more than 81% of the nursing home’s patients are vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to less than 30% of the caregivers, federal data shows.
The facility, located in Auglaize County off of Infirmary Road, asked its staff why they haven’t yet received the vaccine. Administrator Rick Hartline chalked it up to fear of the unknown. He said he requires stricter personal protective equipment and social distancing protocols for his staff caregivers who remain unvaccinated. However, he’s agnostic on a vaccine mandate.
“There’s already a workforce shortage in health care, I don’t know if mandating would increase that shortage or not,” he said. “I’d think so, but you never know.”
Among Ohio’s more than 930 operational nursing homes, about 61% of the health care work force is vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the most recent (week ending Nov. 21) survey data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. About 83% of residents, meanwhile, are vaccinated.
Real-world evidence shows vaccination provides powerful protection, even for older people with weakened immune systems, against hospitalization and death from COVID-19. However, vaccines work best as a population-level tool rather than for individual protection. Vaccinated people are less likely to wind up infected, and nursing home residents are some of the most likely to suffer serious complications from a coronavirus infection. READ MORE
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In theory, the point of managed care is to save money by negotiating with providers for lower prices. So it would seem that the biggest managed-care providers would use their clout to negotiate the lowest prices from doctors and hospitals and for medicine.
But for at least one drug, the largest Medicare managed-care companies are forcing most of their patients to buy the most expensive version, according to an analysis that was published last week. The reason might have to do with the fact that the large care companies aren’t just big insurers, they also profit by managing pharmacy benefits.
The report by 46brooklyn Research, used federal and other data from the third quarter of this year to analyze which versions of a particular drug were available to participants in Medicare Part D, the managed-care portion of the government health program for Americans over 65.
The analysis looked at versions of the multiple sclerosis (MS) drug dimethyl fumarate. Until late 2020, the one version available in the United States was called Tecfidera.
So-called “brand name” drugs typically have sole access to the marketplace until their patents expire. That allows drugmakers to charge high prices — more than an $8,000-a-month list price in the case of Tecfidera — in part to recoup research costs. READ MORE
