Campaign to End Ohio Property Taxes Brushes Off Funding Concerns as DeWine Warns of 20% Sales Tax

As Gov. Mike DeWine warns that Ohio’s sales tax would need to go up to 20% if a proposal to abolish property taxes passes this November, campaign organizers to abolish property taxes in Ohio argue that it isn’t their problem.

Rising property taxes have reached a breaking point for many Ohioans. And Brian Massie is helping lead the charge to bring down bills. He is part of the Committee to Abolish Ohio Property Taxes, which is currently collecting signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

The campaign is trying to get the amendment on the November 2026 ballot. It needs about 415,000 valid signatures and is aiming to submit about 620,000. Both Democratic and Republican politicians, like DeWine, say it could cause a major funding hole for essential services.

“The sales tax would go up to 17, 18, 19%, 20% sales tax in the state of Ohio on products that you buy,” the governor said. “It would just be devastating to all kinds of local government, starting with schools, but also police and fire and children’s services,” DeWine said Thursday.

County officials are also working to raise awareness of the problems the proposed ballot initiative could cause them.

The Physician Work-Pay Gap Widens 

The same financial pressures hospitals are facing are increasingly evident at the physician enterprise level, according to Kaufman Hall’s latest quarterly “Physician Flash Report,” which is based on data from more than 200,000 employed providers — physicians and advanced practice providers — across more than 100 specialties. Provider productivity continues to climb, even as reimbursement and compensation lag behind, according to the report. Provider productivity — measured by work relative value units per full-time equivalent — has increased 7% since 2023. Over the same period, provider compensation rose 6%, while reimbursement declined 1%, as measured by net patient revenue per provider wRVU. The imbalance is driving higher practice subsidies. The report also highlights continued workforce shifts, with advanced practice providers now comprising 40.7% of the provider workforce. While APPs are helping health systems meet rising patient demand, the data point to growing financial strain across physician enterprises as productivity gains fail to translate into improved reimbursement.

Behavioral Health Conditions Outrank Diabetes, Cancers Among Commercially Insured

Chronic behavioral health conditions account for close to one-third of the most prevalent health matters among commercially insured patients.

Anxiety disorders, mental illness and depressive disorders were the three most frequently observed across insurance claims in 2024 — surpassing obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a swath of other chronic diagnoses — according to a new report from FAIR Health.

These three mental health conditions were among the top ten out of 44 total that were analyzed in the report, with anxiety disorders occurring in 14.6% of patient claims, mental illness accounting for 10.5% and depressive disorders at 8.8%. According to FAIR Health, 57.5% of commercially insured patients have at least one of the 44 chronic conditions, with 11.5% of patients having two co-occurring chronic diagnoses. 

Engage, Empower, Treat:  A Behavioral Health  ECHO Learning Series

AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, in collaboration with Project ECHO, is excited to launch Engage, Empower, Treat: A Behavioral Health ECHO series — an emerging case-based learning model for practitioners. Continuing education for providers who participate in this series will be applied for through Arizona State University, for physicians and nurses, and the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist (CSWMFT) Board for social workers, licensed professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists. This opportunity doesn’t cost anything for participating AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio practitioners. Please read on for more information and register to join this ECHO model clinic.

The Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model was developed by the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and is now used nationwide and internationally. 

To sign up for the virtual ECHO series, please email [email protected].
Further registration instructions will be emailed to you.

What is the ECHO model?
The ECHO model facilitates case-based learning for front-line practitioners via teleconferencing clinics. Similar to virtual chart
rounds, the ECHO model creates a space where practitioners can share knowledge and build support to better manage patients with complex care needs.

For more information on Project ECHO, please visit https://echo.unm.edu.

What’s the goal of this program?
Engage, Empower, Treat: A Behavioral Health ECHO Learning Series exists to:

• Provide education to increase screening and treatment of behavioral health disorders among members in physical health settings.
• Recognize symptoms, adaptations, or somatic complaints in response to a traumatic experience.
• Build skills to successfully engage members in treatment through motivational interviewing and harm reduction interventions.

Click here to view the event flyer!