TOLEDO, Ohio — The House is set to vote as early as Wednesday afternoon on a measure to fund the government.
This comes after the Senate broke the stalemate last night, passing a bill to end the longest government shutdown in American history. The amended bill will now head to the House, where the Republican-controlled chamber is expected to vote on the measure tomorrow. The package will fund the government through the end of January, extend SNAP benefits for a full year and reverse shutdown-related layoffs of federal workers.
As part of the deal to reopen the government, Republicans agreed to hold a vote next month on a decision to extend health care tax subsidies.
Despite a reopening on the horizon, concerns still loom for many nationwide.
WTOL 11 reached out to three community-based public service organizations in Lucas County on Tuesday to get a feel for what they've heard from people. All of them say they've fielded calls over the last eight weeks about how all this could disrupt health care and food assistance for vulnerable residents.
“A lot of patients are a little nervous about just what they're hearing, both rumors and from the news on what's happening with the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare, and what it might mean for them and their coverage, specifically their accessibility to some of our clinics,” said Shane Douglas, chief operating officer of the Neighborhood Health Association, a federally qualified health center serving as a safety net for basic health care needs.
Douglas says some patients support reform, but others are scared of changes they don't understand.
"There are some proponents of changing the program. We know that not every program is perfect, especially as it has years to develop and move on. And there are other proponents that are just really, really scared," he said.
The Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities says it's also getting questions focused on uncertainty about SNAP benefits and what changes to the Affordable Care Act could mean for their low-wage direct support professionals.
"The direct care staff that work with them would be affected by that, and we would hate to see something happen that they would no longer be able to stay in the profession of providing direct service," said Michele Myerholtz, the board's superintendent.
Justin Moor, president of the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, says the organization has heard from concerned clients about changes to a slew of federal programs, mostly the ones that impact those 60 and older.
"Initially, people are just concerned about their benefits in general or maybe some specific benefits, whether it be Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, Home Energy Assistance Program, and so on and so forth," Moore said.
WTOL 11 also reached out to the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library to see if it has noticed an influx of calls with questions about health care subsidies. A spokesperson said the library system hasn't, but is willing to help people find support for all of their health care-related questions.
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