TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A look at where Ohio’s political leaders, health industry organizations and others stand on expanding Medicaid benefits. Gov. John Kasich is to announce Feb. 4 whether he’ll push for expansion.
KASICH: The governor has shown strong opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul — and one of its key elements is expanding Medicaid. Last summer, he called the law a massive new tax on the middle class and said he hoped it would be repealed. But now he’s faced with whether to expand health coverage for an estimated half-million Ohioans and take the federal money that goes with it. One recent study suggested expansion could net the state $1.4 billion over the next decade and that an expanded Medicaid program would pay for itself. The governor and his administration leaders have not hinted which way they are leaning. Some fellow Republicans in the state already have made it clear they don’t like the idea. But Kasich said last week that “political considerations are at a minimum” as he weighs his decision.
