Ohio lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at stopping theft from Ohioans’ EBT cards, but the final measure also adds new Medicaid verification requirements that
Ohio lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at stopping theft from Ohioans’ EBT cards, but the final measure also adds new Medicaid verification requirements that critics say could have made it harder for some people to get care.
The legislation began as an effort to crack down on EBT card theft after Ohio SNAP recipients reported their benefits were stolen directly from their cards. In May 2023, Chillicothe mother Brandie Burks said she was struggling after losing $1,000 in benefits.
“I’m desperately limiting the milk right now. We’re trying to make one gallon a day last,” Burks said then. She contacted ABC6 Investigates and said there was not any way she could feed her family without the benefits. In November 2024, Columbus mother of twins Erica McAllister said thieves took $1,500 from her benefits.
“They said you can’t have this. It’s heartbreaking. Yeah. I cried,” McAllister said when recalling that trip to the grocery store.
Lawmakers ultimately agreed this year to upgrade security on the cards by adding chips. However, that bill passed the House of Representatives this week after Medicaid-related provisions were added. Before lawmakers agreed to the EBT security upgrade, some pushed to address national headlines suggesting massive Medicaid fraud in Columbus as part of the deal. During House debate on June 10, 2026, Rep.
Mike Dovilla, R-Berea, said, “Medicaid must be preserved for the vulnerable and protected from exploitation. ” Under the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, the state would strengthen verification requirements for Medicaid home health care providers, including fingerprint scans, facial recognition and voice identification. Due to concerns that some people could have lost home health care assistance under the new restrictions, provider eligibility will stay the same. Rep.
Bride Rose Sweeney, D-Westlake, urged lawmakers to consider the stakes, saying, “I really hope we take seriously the serious power that we have, that we all chose to run and get elected. It quite literally can become life or death and I really hope we start acting like it. ”The bill is now on its way to Gov. Mike DeWine.
Security chips would be added to all of Ohio’s EBT cards at a cost of more than $2 million, and DeWine is expected to sign the bill without a veto. Columbus police are investigating a death after a body was found behind a dumpster Wednesday night along Sullivant Avenue on the city’s West Side. Police responded to a report of a shooting at 7:34 p.m. Wednesday at 5286 Applebaugh Street. When police arrived, they located two victims.
Both people were prOne man was killed as a result of a crash that happened early morning Wednesday. At 2:43 a.m., the Ohio State Highway Patrol Lancaster Post received a call of aA rash of car break-ins over the weekend in Fairfield County has prompted authorities to again urge drivers to lock their doors and keep valuables out of sighA bill that would ban child marriages in Ohio is moving forward after clearing a key hurdle at the Statehouse.
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