Couch to Capitol: July Legislative Updates

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Governor DeWine's action on Ohio's state budget brings mixed implications for counselors, with vetoes protecting LGBTQ+ resources but remaining provisions limiting gender-affirming care coverage and establishing binary-only sex policies. The national budget bill (HR1) delivers significant Medicaid cuts that will affect 2.57 million Ohioans enrolled in the program, potentially increasing the number of uninsured Americans by 16 million by 2034.

• DeWine vetoed measures restricting LGBTQIA+ books in libraries and defunding trans-supportive youth homeless shelters
• Ohio budget now officially recognizes only binary sexes and may deny coverage for gender-affirming mental health care
• House Bill 390 would shift responsibility for collecting co-pays from providers to insurers
• Federal budget cuts to Medicaid threaten counselor reimbursement and client access to services
• National SNAP program facing cuts and stricter work requirements affecting vulnerable populations
• Immigration enforcement funding increased by $170.7 billion with additional fees for asylum applications

Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an update. If you have questions, feedback or want to get involved with our advocacy efforts, please reach out. We are always looking for new perspectives and input for our show. You can text us at the number found in the show notes or connect with us on our socials.

Resources:

• https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/clerk/ecms/#/recentfiling
• https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/status-reports
• https://ohiocounseling.org/legislative-advocacy
• LINK to article with all vetoes in the Ohio budget https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/07/01/heres-what-dewine-vetoed-from-the-budget/
  LINK to Ohio House Bill 390 https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb390
  LINK to info about the National Budget https://usafacts.org/articles/whats-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill/

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Created by the OCA's Media, Public Relations, and Membership (MPRM) Committee & its Podcast Subcommittee

·Hosted by Marisa Cargill & Victoria Frazier

·Pre-Production & Coordination by Kailey Bradley, Marisa Cargill, Victoria Frazier, Linda Marcel-Rene & Kendra Thornton

·Editing by Leah Wood & Marisa Cargill

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Ohio Counseling Conversations Couch
to Capital, your quickconnection from the Counseling
Office to where laws meet lives.
In this segment we break downthe latest legislative and
judicial updates, policy changesand advocacy efforts that
impact counselors across Ohio.
Whether you're licensed intraining or just passionate

(00:22):
about the field of counseling,we've got what you need to stay
informed and empowered.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome back to Couch , to Capital on Ohio Counseling
Conversations, where we bridgethe gap between your clinical
couch and the halls of OhioStatehouse and beyond.
I'm Victoria Frazier.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
And I'm Marissa Cargill, and each month it's our
goal to bring you the mostrelevant legislative updates
impacting counselors, clientsand the mental health profession
across our state.
In this episode, we willprovide an update on the state
and national budget bills andtheir implications for our
profession.
Let's start locally.
Governor DeWine signed OhioState budget on June 30th.
The final bill was 3,156 pageslong and includes changes that

(01:04):
affect counselors and clients atlarge.
When signing the bill, dewineissued 67 vetoes, the most in
his time as governor.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
We'll start with some of the relevant vetoes for Ohio
counselors.
Originally, the bill includedmeasures that would have
required public libraries torelocate books referencing
sexual orientation or gender inan area away from the public.
There was an item that wouldhave restricted funding from
youth homeless shelters if theysupported trans or non-binary
identities.
Furthermore, there is aprovision limiting the types of

(01:35):
flags permitted to be displayedon state-owned buildings and
property.
These provisions limiting thelibrary's display of LGBTQIA,
plus books affecting funding fortrans and gender-diverse and
farming homeless shelters andflag-related restrictions were
vetoed by Governor DeWine.
Additionally, there was aprovision that would have
allowed the legislator to choosethe allocation of school

(01:56):
funding based on adherence toOhio Senate Bill 1, the Higher
Education Overhaul Bill.
The Higher Education OverhaulBill.
A brief reminder this bill hasbeen named the Advanced Ohio
Higher Education Act andincludes issues like prohibiting
diversity, equity and inclusioninitiatives, including courses
and training, and spendingrelated to DEI.
It also changes the ways thatuniversities can instruct and

(02:18):
endorse certain topics the statedeems controversial Climate,
electoral and foreign policies,dei, immigration, police
marriage and abortion are listedas examples in the bill.
It also creates a mandatoryAmerican civics course for
students.
Furthermore, sb1 includesprovisions preventing the
faculty from striking, and thisbegins with students graduating
with a bachelor's degree inspring of 2030.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Again.
Senate Bill 1 was signed intolaw in March 2025 and became
effective in June.
However, the line item inOhio's budget that would have
allowed legislators to controlwhere school funding goes, based
on compliance, has been vetoedby the governor.
While these vetoes arereassuring for counselors and
clients, they could beoverturned with a vote of
three-fifths of each chamber.

(03:01):
Currently, ohio Republicans,who largely created the budget,
control enough seats to makethat vote happen.
We can certainly celebratethese changes, but our advocacy
efforts do not end here.
Unfortunately, there wereseveral measures passed in
Ohio's budget that could meanharm for counselors and our
clients.
This includes a measure banningmenstrual products in the men's
restrooms and public buildings.

(03:22):
Additionally, the state budgetnow outlines a policy to only
two binary sexes male and female.
This policy does not have anyconsiderations for those living
outside the binary, includingtrans and intersex individuals.
Lastly, and potentially mostdirectly impacting counselors,
the past budget includesmeasures that could deny
Medicaid or Medicare coveragefor gender-affirming mental

(03:43):
health care in Ohio.
Due to these budget additions,we can anticipate this may be a
challenging time for cliniciansand the clients we serve.
It's crucial that we remainconnected to advocacy groups and
legal analysis to ensureethical legal care.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Dwayne Stewart, the Executive Director of Equality
Ohio, stated social issues don'tbelong in public dollars.
Stadiums shouldn't be fundedwhile our infrastructure and
schools remain in disrepair andtaxpayer dollars should never be
weaponized to erase, censor orshame our communities.
In other Ohio news,representative Gene Schmidt has
introduced House Bill 390.

(04:18):
This legislation would put theresponsibility of collecting
patient co-pays, deductibles andother cost-sharing amounts on
the insurers.
Currently, insurers generallyrequire the provider to collect
these cost-sharing amounts andco-pays, even though they are
set by the insurer.
It also requires allreimbursement for covered
services to be made directly tothe health care provider.

(04:40):
Under the legislation, thischange would take effect January
of 2027.
House Bill 390 is apro-provider piece of
legislation that has beenintroduced to this General
Assembly.
This bill has not yet beenassigned to a committee, but we
will keep you updated as thisbill moves forward.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Now let's discuss the national budget and its
implications for Ohioans.
Hr.1, the so-called Big,beautiful Bill, contains major
implications for Ohioans.
This bill was negotiatedthrough a process called
reconciliation, which Congresscan use to change laws that
affect the country's budget.
The process is different fromthe typical way laws are made.
It limits the time the Senatecan spend debating to 20 hours,

(05:20):
eliminating the possibility of afilibuster.
The Senate can spend debatingto 20 hours, eliminating the
possibility of a filibuster.
It also means that the bill canpass with a simple majority of
51 votes in the Senate, or 50plus the vice president's
tie-breaking vote, rather thanthe super majority of 60 votes
typically needed to avoid afilibuster.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
The HR 1 bill approves significant cuts to
Medicaid.
Medicaid is funded throughmandatory federal spending,
meaning that the federalgovernment is legally obligated
to fund Medicaid based oneligibility rules and service
requirements.
Medicaid funding typicallyrenews each year without the
need for congressional changes.
However, Congress does have thepower to influence spending

(05:57):
through the budget process,including reconciliation bills.
Medicaid represents nearly $1out of every $5 spent on health
care in the US.
It is administered by stateswithin the federal rules and
jointly funded by states and thefederal government through a
federal matching program.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
In 2024, $638 billion federal dollars went towards
Medicaid and the Children'sHealth Insurance Program, also
known as CHIP.
In the same year, 84.6 millionAmericans were enrolled in
Medicare programs.
By June, the CongressionalBudget Office estimates that
these changes to Medicaid andhealth insurance would increase
the number of nationallyuninsured people by 16 million

(06:38):
in 2034.
As of March 2025, roughly 2.57million Ohioans were enrolled in
Medicaid.
According to Policy MattersOhio, the federal government
contributes $1.84 to Medicaidfor every $1 Ohio invests.
This reduction of the federalMedicaid budget affects the
healthcare coverage of clients,especially rural clients, and

(07:01):
their ability to accesscounseling services in the state
.
Furthermore, the impact will befelt by counselors who rely on
Medicaid programs.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
The HR1 federal budget also proposes cuts to and
stricter work requirements for,the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, or SNAP,previously referred to as food
stamps.
In the 2024 fiscal year, 41.7million people, or 12.3% of
Americans, received monthly SNAPbenefits.
This percentage has largelybeen the average for the program

(07:33):
since 2010, with the exceptionof 2019 and 2020.
Snap accounted for 1.5% of allfederal funding in 2024, which
amounted to $100 billion thatyear.
The average person using theprogram would receive $188 per
month.
The budget has also allocated$170.7 billion in additional

(07:56):
funding for immigration andenforcement-related activities
to the Department of Homeland.
Security, or DHS, and itssub-agencies Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, also knownas ICE, customs and Border
Protection, or CBP, and theDepartment of Defense, or the
DOD.
Cbp and ICE were the third andfourth highest-funded Department

(08:17):
of Homeland Security agenciesin 2024, with budgets of $12.1
billion and $10 billionrespectively.
The agencies receiving thehighest budgets that year were
the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency and the Coast Guard.
Also included in the bill areadditional and increased fees
for various immigrationprocedures, including applying

(08:38):
for asylum.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Finally, the budget included measures that raise the
debt ceiling by $5 trillion andeliminate tax credits for new
projects that utilize wind andsolar energy.
While these may not appear toaffect our work in Ohio
immediately, it's important torecognize that the energy sector
was responsible for 5% of alljobs, according to data from
2022.

(08:59):
It is possible those reductionswill affect those we work to
serve.
There was a lot to take in thismonth, both at state and
federal levels.
Given the potential challengesassociated with the federal and
state budgets, it is essentialfor counselors and mental health
providers to stay informed andeducated about these
implications.
Included in the show notes arelinks to resources that we

(09:22):
utilize to create this episode.
Should you wish for furtherinformation, as always, there
are also links to thepossibilities for further
advocacy efforts.
If you are so inclined, we cancontinuously assess our
knowledge, develop appropriateresources and prioritize our
ongoing self-care and copingstrategies.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an
update.
If you have questions, feedbackor want to get involved with
our advocacy efforts, pleasereach out.
We are always looking for newperspectives and input for our
show.
You can text us at the numberfound in the show notes or
connect with us on our socials.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
That's it for this edition of Couch to Capital,
brought to you by the OhioCounseling Association and Ohio
Counseling Conversations.
In the meantime, stay tuned,stay engaged and keep advocating
for the future of counseling inOhio, because what happens at
the Capitol doesn't stay at theCapitol.
It impacts every counselingconversation.