Kasich poised to move forward with Medicaid expansion

The Kasich administration announced today that it will ask the seven-member Controlling Board at its Oct. 21 meeting for authority to spend about $2.5 billion in federal funds over the next two years to expand Ohio’s Medicaid program (Source: “Kasich administration will seek state Controlling Board's OK to use federal funding to expand Medicaid in Ohio,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 11, 2013).

If the board approves the request, state officials say they can expand by Jan. 1 Medicaid eligibility to all Ohioans earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The expansion was originally part of the Affordable Care Act, but the Supreme Court ruled last year that it was voluntary for states.

The Controlling Board request comes one day after the federal government approved Ohio’s plan for expansion (“Ohio gains federal approval to expand its Medicaid program to cover state's working poor,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 10, 2013).

Ohio law requires that before money can be spent, it must be formally appropriated. Typically that is done through a vote of the General Assembly. But the Controlling Board also has the authority to adjust appropriations as needed. In this case, it would involve authority to spend newly received federal revenues. The Controlling Board includes a member appointed by the governor plus two Republicans and one Democrat from each chamber of the General Assembly.