Kasich: Budget veto overrides leave Medicaid in $1.4 billion hole

Although Medicaid expansion enrollment in Ohio will not freeze, Gov. John Kasich and several of his cabinet directors said last week that the House's Medicaid-related veto overrides threaten health care access and do nothing to help a projected $1.4 billion shortfall for the health insurance program (Source: “Gov. John Kasich: Medicaid-related vetoes threaten budget stability,” July 6, 2017).

The House rejected 11 of Kasich's 47 line-item vetoes, the first time either chamber of the GOP-controlled General Assembly overrode one of Kasich's vetoes. The House did not vote on a proposed Medicaid expansion freeze but instead voted to reinstate nine other Medicaid-related provisions. 

State Budget Director Tim Keen said the budget passed by lawmakers underfunded Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for more than 3 million poor and disabled Ohioans, by nearly $1.4 billion. He said the veto overrides, if approved by the Senate, would make the situation worse. 

House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, a Clarksville Republican, said the House's actions aimed to save the state money. "What we did was move forward immediately on all items we knew we had within our control that we felt controlled Medicaid eligibility, costs and rates," he said.