Catching Our Eye News Roundup, Oct. 30, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

Please subscribe to our free daily newsletter to get all the Ohio news you need to know right to your inbox every weekday morning.

If you already subscribe, please share with your family and friends so they know about the Ohio Capital Journal too: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/subscribe/

Catching Our Eye

• Healthcare costs. Ideastream’s Ida Lieszkovszky reports, “’Out of control’ healthcare costs and too few solutions worry Northeast Ohio voters.”

Nationwide, healthcare coverage has been getting more expensive. Small group coverage rates are expected to rise by 14% for next year. Prices on the healthcare marketplace are anticipated to jump 15%, on top of steep premium hikes coupled with the loss of federal subsidies. Even private insurance is set to increase by more than 8% on average.

Then there’s Medicaid. New work requirements will kick in at the start of the year, which means some people may no longer qualify for coverage. One study estimates that as many as 356,000 Ohioans could drop off the Medicaid rolls in 2027. But some voters say what they’re hearing from the candidates does not reflect the increases they’re seeing on their healthcare bills.

• Caregiving costs. NPR reports, “What’s gone up even faster than gas or rent? The cost of caregiving.”

As prices have ticked up in recent years, the cost to caregivers has skyrocketed. A study, released Wednesday by AARP and shared first with NPR, finds that family caregivers — people helping out disabled, chronically ill or elderly adults — now spend an average $11,508 out of pocket each year. That’s roughly 60% more than just five years ago, and adds up to 31% of a caregiver’s income, on average.

The increase during those years is more than twice the overall rate of inflation of 24%, as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. What’s driving the ramp-up? Food, housing and medical expenses are the biggest chunk, finds the study, which queried 2,538 family caregivers.

• Electricity costs. TIME reports, “Ohio’s Data-Center Revolt Is Upending the Midterms.”

The fervor against data centers is spreading across the state. Ohio has some 200 data centers, making it one of the biggest hubs in the country. In a former swing state that went red in the Trump era, Republicans admit the groundswell of political opposition to data centers has created a political opening for Ohio Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections…

A national Gallup poll published in May found that more than 70% of voters oppose building an AI data center in their area. In Ohio, where the average household’s electric bill climbed some 15% in the past year and more than 66% over the past decade, the sentiment is even more negative. A September survey by Bowling Green State University found that nearly 80% of Ohioans support a moratorium on data centers. More than 100 local governments in Ohio have reportedly enacted data-center moratoriums; in November, at least 10 will vote on adding a data-center ban to their charters, while two others will decide whether to recall mayors who cut data-center deals. In the eyes of opponents, the facilities—and the powerful AI industry that backs them—have come to represent an attack on their safety, jobs, pocketbooks, and quality of life.

• Data centers on the ballot. WLWT’s Giacomo Luca reports, “Ohioans will decide on most data center ballot issues in America.”

Ohio voters will decide on 21 local data center ballot issues this November, more than any other state in the nation. Buckeye voters are considering bans, regulations, and zoning changes related to data center infrastructure in 18 communities and 16 counties across the state.