In this edition of WYSO Weekend:
- 23 thousand people who were newly eligible for Medicaid in Ohio got enrolled last month. That’s after Ohio Governor John Kasich decided to expand the insurance program to cover more low-income people using Affordable Care Act funds. But as WYSO’s Lewis Wallace reports, Medicaid can be tricky to quantify.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine brought the buckeye state's war on drugs to Clark County this week. A panel of health experts and law enforcement held a town hall meeting at Springfield High School to discuss Ohio's ongoing battle against drug abuse. WYSO's Wayne Baker was there as DeWine presented staggering numbers regarding Ohioans who have died from overdoses in the past year - almost 2,000 heroin related deaths alone.
- Ohio has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation, and this week, state senators - Shannon Jones of Springboro and Charleta B. Tavares of Columbus – introduced five bills on the senate floor aimed at increasing awareness of safety measures that can prevent infant mortality, and expand health programs that can address the problem.
- Another major problem facing Ohioans – and the world – is human trafficking. This week, U.S. Senator Rob Portman and local leaders gathered at the University of Dayton for an open forum. Portman, who co-chairs the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, led the discussions, with input from local organizations and University of Dayton human rights faculty and students. Be Free Dayton is one of many groups that took part on Friday, and in an interview with WYSO, Executive director Elizabeth Van Dyne said their group is looking for more Ohioan to join the battle. First we talked about Be Free Dayton.
