Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, governing under the influence of hospital lobbyists, has been aggressively campaigning for the expansion of Medicaid. But facing opposition from conservative groups and the Republican-controlled legislature, he’s now trying to argue that his support for one of the major provisions of President Obama’s health care law has nothing to do with Obamacare.

“Medicaid expansion is no different than the current Medicaid program, and to try to tie Medicaid to Obamacare, I don’t see the connection,” Kasich told the Columbus Dispatch last week, in an article flagged by Jason Hart of Media Trackers.