After joining the Ohio House in voting to override six of Gov. John Kasich’s budget vetoes last month, the Senate was expected to come back this week to consider overriding more. But the Senate cancelled the session.
The Medicaid managed-care tax replacement was one of the House overrides that made it to the Senate floor. But it was set aside without a vote, though Republicans and Democrats were interested in overriding Kasich’s veto on it.
That’s because local transit authorities raise hundreds of millions of dollars through that tax. Republican Senate Caucus spokesman John Fortney says talks are continuing on it.
“I think it boils down to getting something is a lot better than getting nothing,” Fortney said.
Fortney says there’s no guarantee that the state could get a federal waiver that's needed to follow through with changes to the Medicaid program. So he says Senate leaders will continue to talk to members of Kasich’s administration to figure out the best way to move forward, at least in the short term.
