The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio bill bans Medicaid and public employee health plans from covering gender reassignment surgery
Last action · May 13, 2026: Referred to InsuranceSponsor: Josh Williams
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What This Bill Would Do
State Representative Josh Williams introduced House Bill 838 to prohibit Medicaid and all state and employee health benefit plans from providing coverage, benefits, or services for gender reassignment surgery. The bill also establishes financial penalties for local authorities that fail to certify compliance with the prohibition by April 30 annually.
Public-sector employees and Medicaid enrollees will lose health coverage for gender reassignment surgeries under state-funded health plans, and noncompliant local governments face a 25 percent reduction in their local government fund payments over twelve months.
- House Bill 838 was introduced in the 136th Ohio General Assembly by Representative Josh Williams. context
- The Ohio Revised Code governs state laws, administrative duties, and local government fund distributions handled by the tax commissioner. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Medicaid enrollees
State and local authority employees
Public employees and elected or appointed officers will lose health insurance coverage options for gender reassignment surgery under their employer-provided health plans.
Local authorities
Counties, municipal corporations, and townships must certify compliance annually or face a 25 per cent reduction in local government fund distributions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this bill apply to private health insurance plans in Ohio?
What happens if a local authority fails to certify compliance with the ban?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- May 13, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred to Insurance
- Apr 30, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Integration of Social Mandates into Municipal Finance
The bill links compliance with health care coverage restrictions directly to the receipt of state local government fund distributions via mandatory deductions.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy90Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
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