House Democrats Announce Support of Medicaid Expansion

House Minority Leader Armond Budish and State Reps. Nickie Antonio and John Carney held a press conference introducing Medicaid expansion in a stand-alone bill.  Gov. Kasich included the expansion of Medicaid as part of his two year budget.  House Republicans decided to forgo $13 billion in federal aid to Ohio to increase healthcare access through Medicaid in the changes they proposed to Gov. Kasich’s budget.

“We stand ready to support the stand-alone legislation introduced by Reps. Antonio and Carney which adopts the Governor’s proposal to expand Medicaid.  We ask Republican leadership to put aside tea party threats and allow the bill to
be voted on, on the House floor, where it will have strong bi-partisan support,” said Leader Budish.

Right now, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans cannot afford healthcare coverage and do not qualify for Medicaid.  Expanding Medicaid will allow 275,000 Ohioans to see a doctor, get preventive care, and obtain needed lab test and x-rays.  And it will bring $13 billion in tax money back to Ohio.

“This is the right time to do the right thing for hundreds of thousands of hardworking low income Ohioans,” said Rep. Antonio. “Expanding access to healthcare is good for our economy and communities, and the overall well being of our state.”

The stand alone bill as introduced by Reps. Antonio and Carney mirrors the Medicaid expansion originally proposed in the budget by Governor Kasich.  Medicaid expansion is provided for under the Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010 by the United States Congress, stipulates that the federal government will fund 100 percent of Medicaid coverage to individuals with incomes up to 138 percent of
the Federal Poverty Level from 2014-2016. The expansion of funding from the federal government allows the state to efficiently support extending Medicaid
coverage to 275,000 Ohioans.

“Medicaid expansion is a smart economic strategy that will underwrite jobs, keep Ohioans’ tax dollars in Ohio and improve the health and productivity of our citizens. Failing to expand Medicaid will have an enormously negative impact on
hospitals, healthcare delivery and Ohio businesses. The emergency room is the
most expensive healthcare provider and failing to expand Medicaid will keep the
emergency room as the location of only resort for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.” Rep. Carney said. “Rejecting Medicaid expansion is not fiscally
conservative, it is fiscally irresponsible.”