JMOC Holds Hearing to Examine Medicaid Spending and Set Growth Rate for Governor’s Budget

The Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee (JMOC) on Thursday approved Medicaid growth rates of 3.8 percent for FY26 and 3.7 percent for FY27. Rep. Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) was the only member of the committee to vote against the growth rates. JMOC set the rates following a presentation from actuary CBIZ Optumas, which included the Ohio Department of Medicaid's (ODM) projections for the upcoming biennium.

According to ODM, its growth rates are expected to be 5.3 percent in FY26 and 5 percent in FY27. The JMOC approved rates are 1.5 percentage points lower in FY 2026 and 1.3 percentage points lower in FY 2027, marking a reduction from the department’s suggestions – potentially curbing Medicaid's projected all-funds spending plans. Despite this, the growth rate still represents the highest JMOC has approved in its 10-year history.

It should also be noted that the growth rate set by JMOC only applies to the Governor’s introduced budget, while the House and Senate are free to make adjustments up or down to the resources allocated to Medicaid during the budget process. CBIZ Optumas said the largest single driver of the per-member, per-month increase is pharmacy costs, accounting for roughly 33 percent of the total increase. He said the higher costs are due to a number of factors, including increased unit prices and increased utilization of drugs.