Posted on 10/19/2013 11:39:41 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
(Ohio)House Republicans are preparing to potentially sue GOP Gov. John Kasich over taking Medicaid expansion to the state Controlling Board, and they would base their lawsuit on the arguments laid out in a formal protest they filed yesterday.
Thirty-nine GOP representatives signed a letter in protest of Kasich’s plan to ask the seven-member legislative-spending oversight panel on Monday to approve $2.56 billion in federal money over two years to cover about 275,000 more poor Ohioans under Medicaid. They said Kasich’s maneuver will circumvent the “clear intent of the General Assembly,” a violation of Ohio law.
The letter, apparently written by Republican Rep. Lou Terhar of Cincinnati, was based on research provided by Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law. Thompson, who confirmed his research, told The Dispatch last night that should the Controlling Board approve Kasich’s request, a lawsuit could soon follow and Thompson would be “the lawyer doing the suing.”
“It not even finalized yet, so it’s too soon to say precisely who the plaintiffs would be, but clearly (House Republicans) would seem most well positioned for legal action,” Thompson said. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...
Because those states are bluffing in an attempt to block the exchanges. They will fold like a pancake next year.
Second of all, it isn't as if we're receiving NEW federal money. We would simply be receiving the same federal money that we used to receive under the Medicare and Medicaid Disproportionate Share Payments (DSH) which were cut thanks to Obamacare under the premise that medicaid expansion would be mandatory which would offset those cuts by creating a larger pool of insured i.e. paying customers.
The supreme court said that the fed couldn't mandate medicaid expansion however so those cuts were never offset which means states and/or hospitals will be stuck picking up the costs of paying for the uninsured people which means hospitals like the Cleveland clinic have to cut $330 million out of their budget next year. The Cleveland Clinic is Ohio's premier hospital and is rated as one of the top 4 hospitals in America. That's going to change thanks to this failure to compensate for the lost DSH funding.
To make matters worse, by declining the federal money, it will just redistribute Ohio federal tax revenue to blue states that will be expanding medicaid which I find quite annoying. There's nothing good about this for Ohio as far as I'm concerned. This isn't conservative versus liberal. This is just good business.
I will just refer you to post 22.
Lost me at “First and foremost, if you are an Ohioan, it should occur to you that maybe John Kasich knows more about this issue and the impact it will have on our state than you do.”
I know, there were a lot words and some somewhat tricky concepts. I shouldn’t have expected you to be able to understand it all. I’m sorry.
“We pay our federal taxes. Why shouldn’t we accept the medicaid expansion funds from the federal government?”
“We paid in” does not result in a future unending revenue stream.
Ohio Ping
The Health Care Freedom Amendment to the Ohio Constitution was approved by 66% of Ohio voters.
Ohio Constitution Prohibits Legislators from Enacting State Insurance Mandates
“A Policymaker’s Guide to Following the Health Care Freedom Amendment“)
http://www.ohioconstitution.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Health-Care-State-Mandates.pdf
This is just good business.
******
Good business does not mean it is lawful. The GOP reps are suing because what Kasich did was unlawful.
From the article,
“They said Kasich’s maneuver will circumvent the “clear intent of the General Assembly,” a violation of Ohio law.”
I have never seen Republicans so eager to screw over their state's business interests. They're acting like they represent a bunch of OWS supporters.
In the case of South Dakota, adding 48,000 working poor, governments words not mine, to the medicaid rolls is a really dangerous bridge to cross when payments are anything but g uaranteed. Listening to democrats wail that we are giving away two billion dollars is also a bit much to stomach when the entire economy is in a shambles. A point seemingly lost on Congress, the supreme court, and most especially the executive branch of government.
Wyoming for example has a number eligible for expansion of only 17,000 and they are far more able to shoulder the potential payments being one of the big five energy states.
That should be big six energy states. I forgot OK.
Pinging to follow thread...I am of two minds about this! Remembering that ALL Federal funds come from ALL of us, it may be true that what Ohio gets is not impacted by what California gets, but we are certainly still sending our dollars in, and not taking the "benefit" offered...BUT, the Fed's are trillions of dollars in debt already, and the whole idea is completely unsustainable in the long run.
There are also many side issues, such as, the cost of emergency room visits for the uninsured vs. the cost of the government providing basic care benefits...but will many doctors agree to accept low rates of Medicaid compensation?? If not, the whole plan fails.
It does occur to me that if Ohio agrees to expanding Medicaid with Federal funding (a cornerstone of 0bamacare), it might just hasten the demise of the whole ACA debacle?? Because it's not going to be sustainable, no matter how "charitable" and "just" it might seem to be...and I believe Kasich is insisting on a proviso to "back out" with no penalty if/when the Fed's inevitably renege (sic) on the promised funding...
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