EDITORIAL: Why the governor’s Medicaid veto should stand

Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

July 03--John Kasich cuts a national profile with his defense of the Medicaid expansion. The governor has delivered sharp criticism of his fellow Republicans in charge of Congress for their plans to all but end the extended health coverage for the poor and vulnerable. Now that same clash is front and center at the Statehouse.

On Friday evening, the governor rightly vetoed a provision that lawmakers included in the new two-year state budget. It freezes enrollment in the expansion starting in July 2018. Those currently on the program, more than 725,000 Ohioans, would remain -- unless they rotated off, something that happens often. Lawmakers did add an exception. Those receiving treatment for mental illness and drug addiction could rejoin Medicaid.

Over the weekend, legislative leaders weighed whether to attempt an override of the governor's veto. The House has scheduled a session for Thursday. Does Speaker Cliff Rosenberger have the necessary 60 votes?

Ohioans should hope that he does not. As the governor noted in his veto message, the expansion has benefited the state.

Health insurance is an expensive proposition. The expansion makes coverage available to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level, about $33,600 for a family of four. They are plainly deserving, especially in view of 40 percent holding jobs and many others disabled. Many now regularly see primary care doctors. They are healthier, and, as the state has learned, in better position to keep and seek work.

Most telling, the expansion has been a key element in addressing the opiate epidemic. It is fair to wonder: How many more Ohioans would have died without expansion? To their credit, lawmakers added a needed $170 million to the effort. Now they would put other Ohioans in jeopardy by drawing a cruel line.

If the exceptions for mental illness and drug addiction invite confusion about eligibility, the freeze in enrollment would leave those with, say, cancer or a heart condition shut out.

The governor's office forecasts that the enrollment freeze would result in 500,000 Ohioans losing coverage in 18 months. That isn't hyperbole. Neither is the governor exaggerating when he cites the likelihood of legal fights. First, the freeze requires federal approval. The exceptions for the drug addiction and mental illness risk running afoul of federal law in what amounts to redefining the expansion population.

Perhaps the Trump White House will be more accommodating, or the Republican "repeal and replace" won't wreck Medicaid. For now, the governor has the far better of the argument. That includes his line-item vetoes striking work requirements and premiums for Medicaid enrollees. Again, many already work, and there is a reason they need Medicaid: They have little income.

Republican lawmakers worry about costs. Fair enough. Yet the relatively efficient Medicaid isn't responsible for the towering expense of the system. The expansion elevates the lives of those in need. It has succeeded in Ohio. Which explains the governor's veto, and why lawmakers should abandon any bid to override.

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