According to certain reports by the SEIU.org Ohio ranks 35th.in the nation for health Status. It also states that as the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, close to a million Ohio residents will gain access to affordable health care. Diabetes, asthma and obesity have plagued the nation in recent years and Ohio is not immune to those health risks. Being able to afford health care is for many individuals a problem of insurmountable proportions and President’s Obama Health Care Act gives them the hope of obtaining health coverage for them and their families this year.
For more news about Ohio, follow the links below.
After delays, Obamacare options for small businesses coming to Ohio soon
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has selected Ohio and four other states for what it says is “early” access to an Affordable Care Act program offering health insurance to small businesses.
This will allow businesses with up to 50 employees to look for competitively priced health coverage for 2015 through the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The federal SHOP program was supposed to be in place this year but was pushed back amid numerous problems in starting up the ACA’s main program, covering individuals. Some states with their own enrollment processes did not have these problems and were able to start SHOP anyway, but Ohio was one of many relying on the federal enrollment mechanisms.
Small business owners get hefty state tax refunds
The state is refunding millions of dollars to small business owners who overpaid their taxes in previous years and were not aware of the errors.
An Ohio law signed this year by Gov. John Kasich forces the Ohio Department of Taxation to refund overpaid taxes to companies. State officials said so far they have cut refund checks for $29 million.
Previously, if a business wasn’t aware it had overpaid and didn’t request a refund, the money would be held at the department of taxation, and once statutory deadlines passed, the money would roll into the state treasury, officials said.
“It was just wrong. The policy was anti-business. It was terrible, so we have changed it. Who knows how many millions and millions of dollars should have been in the hands of business people across this state for many years and it’s lost forever,” Ohio tax commissioner Joe Testa said.
Down-ticket Dem candidate talks small business in Athens
The Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State, state Sen. Nina Turner, visited Athens Tuesday to meet with various area small-business owners to learn about ways to help if she is elected in November.
Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, said in an interview that she was in Athens to hear the experiences of small-business owners, and hear their ideas about the local business environment and how to improve the Secretary of State’s Business Services Division. She called the division a key component of her plans for the office.
“It was such a pleasure sitting down with these business owners and leaders in their community to discuss the situation on the ground in Athens and learn their stories of starting their businesses and making them successful,” said Turner.
