GOP, Dem Governors: Health Care Reform Should Be Bipartisan

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 16 -- The Ohio Democratic Party issued the following news:

Seven governors -- including Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- are calling on Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer to find "common ground in a bipartisan fashion" on health care reform, even though Senate Democrats have been left out of negotiations and the public still has not seen the bill.

"We're encouraged to hear that Governor John Kasich wants Republicans to work with Democrats to reform health care -- which represents nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy," said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. "Rob Portman has been part of the 13-man working group in the Senate, and Portman's staff says he supports public hearings -- but we have yet to hear about any sort of hearing or even see a draft of the bill. It's time for Portman to stand up for Ohioans and refuse to vote, if there are no hearings on how the bill would impact Ohio."

The governors' letter also warns that "Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic."

"If Portman wants to put Medicaid expansion on a 'glide path' to elimination, the voters of Ohio deserve to know the details," said Pepper. "And the voters deserve to know where the Republican candidates for governor -- Mike DeWine, Jon Husted, Jim Renacci and Mary Taylor -- stand on the secretive, undemocratic process that congressional Republicans have used. Is this how they would run the state of Ohio, without any input from Democrats or the public?"

The Cleveland Plain Dealer today editorialized on Trumpcare, urging Portman not to "join the Republican herd trying to shred the safety net that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) gave hundreds of thousands of your fellow Ohioans through expanded Medicaid coverage."