Ohio Gov. John Kasich defended his controversial choice to expand Medicaid under Obamacare in Ohio by saying that Ronald Reagan did it, more than once.
Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly asked Kasich during the first GOP primary debate whether he would do the same thing if he becomes president.
Kasich responded that the former president and conservative icon expanded the program three or four times.
Kasich has used the Reagan defense before, most notably in 2013 when he decided to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. Kasich said in an editorial in USA Today that Reagan expanded the program in 1986 to let states add women and children.
He also let children and women receive Medicaid even if they weren’t in a nursing home, the editorial said.
The Ohio governor noted that he expanded the program to primarily treat drug addicts and help the working poor.
Several red states have been reticent to expand Medicaid because of vehement opposition to Obamacare. So far 30 states have expanded the program.
