Joe Stafford addresses need for Medicaid Expansion at Columbus rally

COLUMBUS – The Crawford-Marion ADAMH board and 15 other com­mu­nity mem­bers trav­eled to Colum­bus, Ohio to join over 500 hun­dred other advo­cates from around the state of Ohio to hear from a com­mu­nity per­spec­tive why extend­ing cov­er­age is the right thing to do for Ohio, and to demon­strate their sup­port to leg­is­la­tors for the Governor’s pro­posal to extend Med­ic­aid to those up to 138% of the fed­eral poverty level.

[Photo sub­mit­ted] Galion Pas­tor Joe Stafford of Wes­ley Chapel was one of seven speak­ers from around the state mak­ing a case for the impact Med­ic­aid expan­sion would have on per­sons in need of treat­ment for men­tal ill­ness and addic­tion. Stafford has been active in the Craw­ford County Opi­ate task force and is also a licensed ther­a­pist. He shared infor­ma­tion about his church and their Restore Min­istry effort and how church mem­bers involved receive edu­ca­tion and train­ing in work­ing with peo­ple in need of support.

The crowd also had the oppor­tu­nity to hear from Gov­er­nor John Kasich, and to express their appre­ci­a­tion to him for the com­pas­sion he has shown for indi­vid­u­als who strug­gle with untreated men­tal health and sub­stance use dis­or­ders and their families.

“We attended the Med­ic­aid Expan­sion Advo­cacy Extrav­a­gan­z­abecause we see every day the dif­fi­culty so many of our cit­i­zens have access­ing treat­ment and sup­ports for men­tal ill­ness and addic­tive dis­or­ders. The pos­i­tive impact improved access can have on job growth, com­mu­nity safety, and over­all eco­nomic devel­op­ment can­not be over­stated,” stated Jody Demo-Hodgins, ADAMH Board Exec­u­tive Direc­tor, “Treat­ment works and peo­ple recover. Med­ic­aid expan­sion will open the door to recov­ery for thou­sands of Ohioans who need treat­ment ser­vices and supports.”

Galion Pas­tor Joe Stafford of Wes­ley Chapel was one of seven speak­ers from around the state mak­ing a case for the impact Med­ic­aid expan­sion would have on per­sons in need of treat­ment for men­tal ill­ness and addic­tion. Stafford has been active in the Craw­ford County Opi­ate task force and is also a licensed ther­a­pist. He shared infor­ma­tion about his church and their Restore Min­istry effort and how church mem­bers involved receive edu­ca­tion and train­ing in work­ing with peo­ple in need of support.

The expan­sion of Med­ic­aid is being decided as part of the SFY 2014–15 bud­get which is under con­sid­er­a­tion by the Ohio House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives at this time.

Posted by Matt Echelberry on Mar 19 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.