Columbus Dispatch Declares There’s No Case Against Medicaid Expansion

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  May 1st at 02:00 PM  | 

“Opposition to Medicaid expansion is purely ideological,” The Columbus Dispatch editors declared in an April 28 column taking the paper’s advocacy of its current pet cause to a new extreme. For three months the Dispatch has diligently overlooked arguments against Medicaid expansion in Ohio. Dispatch Chairman & Publisher John Wolfe “By opening the door to a bill to expand Medicaid to more Ohioans, Senate President Keith Faber has kept | Read More »

Medicaid Expansion Would “Save” Ohio Money by Increasing State, Federal Spending

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  April 2nd at 12:00 PM  | 

Governor John Kasich and other supporters of expanding Medicaid in Ohio make a strange economic case for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion, portraying millions in new state spending as responsible because it would be offset by billions in new federal spending. The left-leaning Urban Institute, in estimates the Kaiser Family Foundation released last November, projected that Ohio’s adoption of the PPACA | Read More »

Universal Health Care Action Network Helps Gov. Kasich Pressure Ohio House

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  March 25th at 02:30 PM  | 

The contents of a March 15 Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio (UHCAN Ohio) web training for progressive activists interested in lobbying for Medicaid expansion bore a striking resemblance to talking points from Governor John Kasich and his administration. Kasich, a Republican, has decided to pursue billions in new federal funding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) promises to states that expand | Read More »

Can States Expand Medicaid Temporarily?

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  March 20th at 12:00 PM  | 

Governor John Kasich has insisted Ohio can adopt the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion temporarily and back out in the future by including a “circuit breaker” provision that would revoke new Medicaid eligibility if Washington changes the rules. Ohio’s newspapers, which enthusiastically support Medicaid expansion, have reported Kasich’s claims without skepticism. With the federal government more than $16.7 trillion in debt but promising | Read More »

Medicaid Expansion Poll Confirms Primary Risk for Ohio Republicans

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  March 18th at 01:00 PM  | 

A Hill Research Consultants poll conducted March 3-4 found that 65 percent of Republican primary voters oppose Governor John Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid as called for in President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Commissioned by Opportunity Ohio and The Liberty Foundation, the poll surveyed 803 active Ohio voters by telephone, with a 4 percent margin of error. Overall, respondents were evenly | Read More »

John Kasich, Compassionate Conservative?

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  March 4th at 06:00 PM  | 

Ohio Governor John Kasich has conflated government spending with personal charity in his arguments for Medicaid expansion, adopting one of the central pillars of progressive philosophy. Kasich’s portrayal of deeper debt and bigger government as the Christian path strongly resembles President George W. Bush’s talk of “compassionate conservatism,” which assented to progressive arguments that conservatism by itself is heartless. “Well, I think it makes sense | Read More »

Kasich Appointee Scolds Opponents of Ohio Medicaid Expansion

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  March 1st at 01:30 PM  | 

Ohio Right to Life president Michael Gonidakis belittled the Ohio Liberty Coalition (OLC) and every other conservative group in the state in a February 27 Columbus Dispatch editorial promoting Governor John Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid. Gonidakis, who Kasich appointed to the State Medical Board of Ohio just four months ago, parroted the Republican governor’s progressive talking points for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion. “Memo | Read More »

Union Front Can’t Name One Right Revoked by “No Rights at Work”

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  February 26th at 03:00 PM  | 

Union campaign committee We Are Ohio cannot name a single right that would be revoked by a “No Rights at Work” law, which would give workers the freedom to opt out of paying union dues. Questioned about workplace freedom after the topic came up at the group’s February 19 “State of the Worker” press conference, We Are Ohio responded only with disjointed propaganda. Media Trackers | Read More »

Kasich Repeats Medicaid Expansion Lies in Ohio State of the State Address

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  February 21st at 02:00 PM  | 

Governor John Kasich forcefully repeated multiple falsehoods about expanding Medicaid eligibility in Ohio during his 2013 State of the State address on February 19. As he and his administration have done for weeks, Kasich falsely insisted that Ohio’s promised federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) funding for expanding Medicaid will be sent to other states if Ohio rejects the expansion. The Ohio Channel | Read More »

Kasich Administration Presents a False Choice on Medicaid Expansion

By: Jason Hart (Diary)  |  February 18th at 03:00 PM  | 

Governor John Kasich has falsely insisted that if Ohio does not expand Medicaid eligibility, federal Medicaid expansion funds for Ohio will be sent to other states. With some Ohio legislators hesitant to worsen America’s $16.5 trillion national debt, the Kasich administration has inaccurately claimed that rejecting Medicaid expansion would not prevent federal spending. Contrary to February 14 Ohio House of Representatives testimony from the Republican | Read More »