Budget amendment leaves door open for possible Medicaid expansion

House Republicans kept alive the possibility that Ohio may expand its Medicaid program, approving an amendment to its budget that could open the door to changes later this year (Source: “Ohio House keeps Medicaid discussion going, scraps sex education restrictions,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 18, 2013).

The amendment, introduced by Republican Rep. Barbara Sears of suburban Toledo, requires that legislation to reform the Medicaid program in Ohio be introduced in the House, but does not specify what shape that reform will take. It directs the governor's Office of Health Transformation and his Medicaid director to provide assistance in developing the legislation. And if the legislation is not enacted before the year ends, efforts to change Medicaid must cease.