Medicaid restrictions among potential law changes from House GOP
veto showdown with governor
Over the summer, Gov. John Kasich approved the
state biennial budget bill, House Bill (HB) 49, during
an eleventh hour bill signing. However, he used his
executive power to veto nearly 50 items, including
House Republican leaders proposals to limit Medicaid succeed, which includes access to comprehensive
expansion and prevent nursing facilities from being
1
added to Medicaid managed care .
In an unusual move and what I
believe was a politically-charged
response, the Republican-
controlled House voted to
override 11 of the governors
line-item vetoes. Under these
overrides, future Medicaid
expansion will have to be
approved by the Republican-
controlled state Controlling
Board, and what I consider to be out-of-pocket fees
will be imposed on working people who rely on
Medicaid to meet their healthcare needs.
I believe Republican lawmakers potentially added
more restrictions to Medicaid healthcare services by
trying to house authority for approval of optional
services like dental, breast and cervical cancer
screenings with the Republican-controlled legislature, healthcare, not the other way around.
a move the Kasich Administration contends is in
violation of federal law.
The Houses Medicaid override votes could potentially
block out thousands of Ohioans who desperately
need quality treatment and care. Furthermore, I
believe it not only poses a threat to Ohioans well-
being, but I also believe it will potentially endanger
our economy.
In order to pave a path toward success for our
workforce and middle class families, I believe we
must ensure everyone has the tools they need to
healthcare services without unnecessary out-of-
pocket fees and barriers. We need a healthy
workforce to help drive our economic engines our
local communities.
Roughly 1 in 4 Ohioans receive
their healthcare through
Medicaid2, and more than three
million Ohioans are low-income
and disabled.3 While House
Republicans did not push to
freeze future Medicaid expansion
entirely, they found a loophole to
limit healthcare access for these folks by giving the
Controlling Board the authority to restrict Medicaid
expansion.
I believe these bureaucratic hurdles will make it
harder for those in need to obtain vital healthcare
services. I hope the legislature can begin working to
ensure more people have access to quality
1
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170706/kasich-says-
legislature-has-left-medicaid-14-billion-short
2
http://www.healthpolicyohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/
MedicaidBasics_2017_Web_04112017.pdf
3
http://www.daytondailynews.com/business/hundreds-rally-
statehouse-support-kasich-veto-
medicaid/5S908hhMGvo1LbZfK9XXZI/