COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio lawmakers are scheduled to hear more details about how several proposals would change the Medicaid health program for the poor and disabled.
Governor John Kasich included Medicaid expansion in his two-year budget proposal but it was stripped by Republican lawmakers who promised to revisit the issue.
One bill before a House committee would expand the program’s eligibility, while another would roll it back for certain people, such as parents and pregnant women. The measures’ sponsors are expected to testify on their plans Wednesday morning.
A Senate committee also is scheduled to hear initial testimony on a bill creating an oversight body to keep Medicaid growth in check.
The hearings come ahead of a looming decision on Medicaid expansion.
The state Controlling Board is scheduled Monday to vote on Kasich’s request to authorize the spending of federal dollars on newly eligible Medicaid enrollees in the expansion.
Kasich and proponents of expansion say the federal government will foot the bill for the expansion for the first few years, but opponents say it increases the federal debt without improving care.
“Incentivizing unemployment and underemployment is a real problem with the Medicaid program,” Rep. Ron Young (R-Leroy Twp.) said.