OUR MISSION

Ohio Advocates for Healthcare Access (OAHCA) is a consortium of individuals, advocacy organizations and industries who are concerned about legislative decisions that could hurt patients’ access to healthcare services and prescription medicines.

We know that as state budget dollars become scarce, the threat of ever more onerous access restrictions becomes a greater and greater possibility. The effect of this squeeze often has the most drastic effects on those least able to defend themselves – those who rely on the assistance of the public healthcare delivery system.

The purpose of OAHCA is to serve as a communications and resource network to keep its partners informed of threats to access to quality healthcare and, among its members, to share best practices for ensuring the quality of care.

CORE VALUES

• Medicaid patients, like all other patients, deserve timely access to healthcare services and all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
• Healthcare providers and their patients, not state governments, should make the decisions about the best course of medical treatment – medicine is not one size fits all.
• When a patient is stabilized on a medication, they should not be forced to “switch” to another medication because it is cheaper.
• Health care providers MUST have a voice in the legislative decisions that impact their practice of medicine and their patients’ health.
• Consumers MUST have a voice in the legislative decisions that impact their access to health care.
  

OAHCA PARTNERS

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America	NetWellness
Family & Community Services	Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
National Alliance on Mental Illness, Ohio	Ohio State Medical Association
The Ohio Psychological Association	The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians
Epilepsy Foundation of Central Ohio	Mental Health Association of Franklin County
The Center for Health Affairs	Ohio Sickle Cell Disease & Health Association
Columbus Aids Task Force	Central Ohio Breathing Association
Prevent Blindness Ohio	Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Ohio
National Kidney Foundation, Ohio	Arthritis Foundation - Central Ohio Chapter
American Diabetes Association	BioOhio
Ohio Council of Behavioral Healthcare Providers	Ohio Dental Association
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - Cincinnati and Cleveland	American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association	Lupus Foundation of America - Northwest Ohio Chapter
Epilepsy Center - Toledo	Neighborhood Health Associations - Toledo
CareNet	United Cerebral Palsy of Central Ohio
American Heart Association - Ohio Valley Affiliate	Ohio AIDS Coalition
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio	Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Ohio Health Advocacy Network	Ohio Osteopathic Association
Ohio Association of Free Clinics	Ohio Hematology-Oncology Society
Northern Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition Fund	Northern Ohio Hemophilia Foundation
Community Health of Akron	Ohio Psychiatric Association
National Multiple Sclerosis Society	Ohio School Based Health Care Association
Ohio Bleeding Disorders Council	Ohio Association of Community Health Centers
Alzheimer’s Association of Central Ohio

Do you or someone you know need help affording their prescription drugs? Did you know that there are programs that can help?

Click here to learn more about prescription assistance programs in Ohio and if they can be helpful to you.