Ohio Dems pushing GOP-sponsored Medicaid expansion bill

After efforts to expand Medicaid through the state budget failed, Democratic lawmakers in the General Assembly began an effort Thursday to try to call a vote on a Republican-sponsored bill that would expand the program (Source: “Ohio Dems push to bring GOP Medicaid bill to vote,” Associated Press via Newark Advocate, June 28, 2013).

Republican House Speaker William Batchelder said work on the issue would continue over the summer, and also left open the idea of lawmakers coming back in September to vote on changes to the program, but couldn’t say whether any plan would include an expansion.

The bill, which is sponsored by GOP state Rep. Barbara Sears, would extend the Medicaid program under the ACA. It also includes cost-sharing provisions and aims to control Medicaid costs.

A federal final rule on exemptions to the ACA’s individual mandate released this week stated that low-income Americans who live in states that have decided not to expand Medicaid eligibility will be subject to individual mandate penalties if they fail to buy insurance next year.