COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Officials are clearing the way for thousands more Ohioans to receive health coverage under an expansion of Medicaid.
Ohio recently got approval from the federal government to extend Medicaid. However, Gov. John Kasich’s administration needed legislators to approve spending additional federal money on newly eligible residents.
A board of six lawmakers and an administration official who handle certain adjustments to the state budget granted Kasich’s spending request Monday. Ohio is the 26th state to accept the federal funding
“Together with the General Assembly we’ve improved both the quality of care from Medicaid and its value for taxpayers. Today’s action takes another positive step in this mutual effort. I look forward to continuing our partnership with the General Assembly to build upon the progress we’ve already made to make Medicaid work better for Ohioans,” Kasich said in a statement issued by his office after the vote.
Kasich, a Republican, has pushed for Medicaid expansion. But the GOP-controlled Legislature balked, so he turned to the little-known Controlling Board. The move to bypass the full Legislature has been criticized.
“The Controlling Board does not have the authority to expand the Medicaid program,” state Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) said.
Medicaid expansion is a key component of the federal health overhaul. The U.S. government promises to pay for the expansion for three years, gradually phasing down to 90 percent.
The Controlling Board voted 5-2 to expand Medicaid to include Ohioans with household incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, making the healthcare coverage available to an estimated 275,000 additional recipients at a cost of more than $2.5 billion over the next two years.
“The members of the Controlling Board expressed the will of the majority of the members of the Ohio General Assembly and the people of Ohio,” Sen. Charleta B. Tavares (D – Columbus) said.
Today’s vote shows that Democrats and Republicans can work together to ensure that Ohioans’ most basic needs are met,” Rep. John Patrick Carney (D-Columbus) said.
Statehouse GOP leaders could not bring themselves to endorse Kasich’s move.
“This is not a vote in favor of or opposition to the federal healthcare law, otherwise known as ‘Obamacare,’” House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) said in a statement after the vote.
The funds to pay for the expansion are provided by the federal Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform package which has been the target of harsh Republican criticism and attempts to defund or repeal it.
Democrats, while giving the governor credit for bringing the expansion about, were also lukewarm in their praise.
“I welcome Gov. Kasich’s attempt to do the right thing by the citizens of Ohio, however, I must question his leadership. This extraordinary measure is more political cowardice than political courage. Gov. Kasich has presented a temporary solution to an ongoing problem by failing to go through the traditional legislative process,” House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus) said.
The decision follows 10 months of inaction and “false, self-imposed deadlines” in the GOP-controlled General Assembly, Heard said.