Medicaid expansion is one of Republican Gov. John Kasich’s signature accomplishments, but it’s unlikely to remain if either his lieutenant governor or the attorney general is elected to replace him. That would create a crisis for some 700,000 Ohioans in Medicaid expansion, most of whom are chronically ill or drug addicted.
Mike DeWine and Mary Taylor both say Medicaid expansion is not sustainable.
DeWine, the attorney general, said he believes Congress will give states flexibility through block grants and waivers to come up with customized Medicaid programs.
“We will design that program working with the General Assembly to take care of the problems we have, but we’ve got to make some changes,” DeWine said.
Taylor, the lieutenant governor, said she’d do that too, but she’d also push voters to pass a billion-dollar bond issue for zero interest loans, “to incentivize the private sector to build out the continuum of care that’s needed for all of those living in addiction today.”
On this issue, Taylor has publicly broken from Gov. John Kasich, saying she would shrink Medicaid with her first budget and limit it to those unable to work.
Though DeWine says he’s being blunt, he’s been criticized for not being more specific about what he would do beyond redesigning Medicaid expansion with changes such as work requirements.
