06/12/2025

State Operating Budget Passes Senate; Moves to Joint House-Senate Conference Committee to Finalize

Late in the day of June 11, 2025, the Ohio Senate passed its amended version of House Bill 96, the FY26-27 operating budget, after making changes in an omnibus amendment reported out by the Senate Finance Committee the previous day. The bill passed the full chamber by a vote of 23-10 with Sen. Lou Blessing (R-Cincinnati) voting with all Democrats against it. Critically, the Senate-passed version includes the LeadingAge Ohio-endorsed provision related to the PDPM case-mix score calculation to ensure the proper level of funding for reimbursement to nursing facilities.

Also of note in the Senate-passed version, the bill maintains the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) as an independent entity, reversing the House proposal to merge OHFA into the Department of Development; the problematic House-added changes to the private room add-on payment were stricken; and the Senate declined to include PACE Association of Ohio amendments regarding expansion of PACE and timeliness of services. 

Following Senate passage, the House declined to concur to the Senate changes, sending the bill to a joint House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences in the measure and agree to a final version, work that’s expected to take place over the next two weeks. LeadingAge Ohio will continue to advocate for the PDPM transition fix to remain a part of the final bill and for the addition of the PACE provisions during this process. 

For questions regarding the state operating budget, reach out to Eli Faes at efaes@leadingageohio.org.