The GOP controlled Ohio legislature has agreed to a 2-year state budget that includes freezing medicaid expansion enrollment beginning July 2018. Those currently covered would continue to be covered with certain stipulations. According to today’s Columbus Dispatch “the expansion freeze would cause hundreds of thousands of poor Ohioans to lose health coverage and the state to forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars used to fight opioid abuse...” A waiver would be needed to get federal approval for the freeze- probably likely under the Trump administration. Governor Kasich could veto this provision of the state budget but the GOP has a supermajority in both the house and senate. Senate Republican leaders believe they have the votes to override any such veto. A house veto is less certain. Ohioans need to contact their state house and senate Reps and urge them to sustain a probable Kasich veto. Individual states can do damage to the ACA all on their own apart from the current attempt by the Trump administration and the GOP controlled Senate and House. Ohio is a perfect example. We can’t let them get away with this. I urge all my fellow Buckeyes to contact their legislators and let them know we won’t tolerate the medicaid freeze. Here’s a link to the Columbus Dispatch article:
www.dispatch.com/...