Kasich continues push to save Medicaid expansion

A week after visiting President Trump in the Oval Office, Ohio Gov. John Kasich continues to push for his own version of an Obamacare replacement (Source: “Kasich talks to Pence, still pushing Obamacare alternative,” Columbus Dispatch, March 3, 2017).

On Thursday, Kasich spoke by telephone with Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the Cincinnati area to discuss health care with business leaders. Kasich repeated his concerns about maintaining coverage for Ohioans with lower incomes who became eligible for Medicaid under the ACA.

Kasich also has been trying to build support among his fellow GOP governors after a flurry of meetings last weekend in Washington that included Ohio Office of Health Transformation Director Greg Moody and Medicaid Director Barb Sears. But like with majority Republicans in Congress, consensus among the governors is so far elusive.