A $1.6 million grant awarded to the Ohio Medical Center to provide more alternative treatments to doctors who treat patients with complex and incurable diseases is set to expire after the state legislature rejected a $2,542,000 appropriation in July.
The state House of Representatives approved the request for a $1,632,000 grant for June, a change that would expire on Sept. 30.
The change was part of the Senate’s bipartisan budget package that includes $1 billion in new funding for health care providers and for opioid addiction treatment.
It also increases state funding for opioid abuse treatment and other treatment.
The grant to the Cleveland Clinic would have been awarded to Ohio Health Partners, which is led by the state’s medical director of nursing, and was awarded to help the Ohio Hospital Association and other community hospitals improve care, according to a statement from the Ohio Health Partnership.
The $2 million grant, which has an expiration date of Sept. 1, would have funded the Ohio Institute for Health Policy, the largest health policy center in the state, as well as other initiatives, the statement said.
The Ohio Medical Association opposed the grant, saying it would hurt the hospital association’s ability to provide primary care.
The association also questioned whether the grant would help patients with chronic diseases, the Ohio Hospice Association said in a statement.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to make an exception for the hospital because there are many more ways to care for people who are in pain,” said Dr. Paul Siegel, the association’s president.
The House’s budget resolution does not set a deadline for the House to consider the bill, which passed in a 51-48 vote on Monday.
It does not give final approval until the full House is seated on Sept 3.