Medicare-Medicaid changes coming to Southeast Ohio in August

By Chase Campbell / July 1, 2026

MARIETTA, Ohio (WTAP) - Starting Aug. 1, residents in Southeast Ohio who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid will see changes to how their care is managed.

Ohio’s Next Generation MyCare managed care program is expanding into Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington counties. The change will move some enrollees off the Buckeye Hills Regional Council PASSPORT program and into the MyCare program, which previously operated mainly in more urban parts of the state, according to Buckeye Hills Regional Council Aging and Health Director Jenn Westfall.

Westfall said about 850 of the roughly 1,000 people currently on PASSPORT in the region will be affected by the switch. Participating health plans include Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Buckeye Health Plan, CareSource and Molina Healthcare of Ohio.

Westfall said coverage should not lapse during the transition, but she is urging anyone enrolled in both programs to review Medicaid mailings and understand their coverage options under the MyCare program.

“The most important thing for individuals is to select a plan for their coverage that includes the doctors that they want, that includes medication coverage that they’re looking for, that includes the health system that they want to be a part of,” Westfall said. “We don’t want individuals to get to December and realize that the hospital they want to visit or the doctor they want to see is not part of their network.”

People who need help navigating the transition are encouraged to contact Buckeye Hills at 740-374-9436 or Ohio Medicaid at 800-324-8680. Buckeye Hills also released webinars covering the MyCare program under each of the health plans above, which can be found on the BHRC You Tube channel.