Kasich to include Medicaid expansion in next budget proposal

Gov. John Kasich plans to include funding to continue expanded Medicaid coverage in his next budget proposal, but whether the plan is supported by the General Assembly remains to be seen (Source: “Kasich will try to keep Medicaid expansion in new budget,” Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 7, 2014).

State Budget Director Tim Keen said yesterday that the two-year executive budget plan, which will be rolled out on Feb. 2, will include Medicaid spending that includes expansion.

Kasich has the authority to set Medicaid eligibility criteria, but he needs legislative approval to accept federal aid to pay the costs of expansion. The next biennium budget also will include some state spending for six months of 2016, when the federal matching rate for the Medicaid expansion population decreases from 100 percent  to 95 percent.

Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said he doesn’t know where his caucus will stand on Medicaid expansion. “Medicaid expansion, my guess, probably will not be something that remains part of the budget,” he said. “It’s probably something that will have discussion and debate outside the budget.”