Updated: 6:39
p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 | Posted: 6:39 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013
Ohio's treasurer bucks GOP governor on Medicaid
By JULIE CARR
SMYTH
The Associated
Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio
—
A fellow
Republican state official is bucking Gov. John Kasich's
proposed expansion of Medicaid, urging GOP lawmakers to reject the plan for the
sake of the state's bottom line.
In a letter
sent Monday, Treasurer Josh Mandel urged legislative leaders to oppose Kasich's
decision, which was incorporated into the $63.2 billion, two-year budget the
governor released last week.
Kasich's office
said Mandel's advice ignores the benefit the state's bottom line. The governor
has framed the expansion as recapturing Ohioans' tax dollars from the federal
government — but Mandel said he doesn't see it that way.
"There is
no free money," he wrote to House Speaker William Batchelder and Senate
President Keith Faber. "While expanding Medicaid may direct more federal
dollars to Ohio in the next few years, in the long term Ohioans will have to
repay the debt that is funding federal government spending."
Mandel: Don’t expand Medicaid
By Joe Vardon
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday February 13, 2013 6:52 AM
A spokesman for House
Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, said he “is appreciative of the
comments made by Treasurer Mandel on this important issue and looks forward to
discussing this more with the members of the House in the near future.”
Treasurer Josh Mandel urges lawmakers to
reject Kasich's recommendation to expand Medicaid
By Robert Higgs, The Plain Dealer
on February 12, 2013 at 6:45 PM, updated February 12, 2013 at 6:49 PM
on February 12, 2013 at 6:45 PM, updated February 12, 2013 at 6:49 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, citing
concerns over a growing federal debt, has urged the General Assembly to reject
Gov. John Kasich's recommendation that the state expand its Medicaid program to
cover people who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
"There is no free money," Mandel said in a
letter dated Monday. "While expanding Medicaid may direct more federal
dollars to Ohio in the next few years, in the long term Ohioans will have to
repay the debt that is funding federal government spending."
Mandel sent the letter to fellow Republicans William Batchelder,
the House Speaker, and Keith Faber, the Senate President. Members of both
houses and Kasich, another fellow Republican, also got copies.
Mike Dittoe, director of communications for the House
Republican Caucus, acknowledged that the letter was received, but said
Batchelder was in meetings all day Tuesday and as of late afternoon had not
seen it.
Batchelder has not taken a formal position on the
expansion of Medicaid. Committee hearings on the budget are just beginning,
Dittoe said, and the speaker will wait for advice, particularly from Rep. Ron
Amstutz, who chairs the House Finance Committee and is shepherding the budget
through the chamber, and Rep. Barbara Sears, who has expertise on the issue of
Medicaid.
Beck
subject of 3 Ohio probes
Rep files countersuit
against 14 investors
Feb 12, 2013
Written by
Paul E. Kostyu
COLUMBUS — State Rep. Peter A.
Beck is the subject of three separate state investigations, according to his
attorney.
Meanwhile, Beck this week in Hamilton
County Common Pleas Court countersued those who filed a lawsuit against him.
The initial suit alleges he participated in a fraud that cheated investors out
of more than $1.2 million. Beck is seeking more than $25,000, punitive damages
and attorney fees.
The state investigations of the Republican
former mayor of Mason are coming from:
• The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee,
which is trying to determine whether Beck used his position as a state lawmaker
for financial gain.
Konrad Kircher, Beck’s Mason-based
attorney, told The Enquirer he has heard neither from the committee nor from
the legislative inspector general, Tony W. Bledsoe, who conducts investigations
for the committee. Bledsoe said he could neither confirm nor deny an
investigation by his office.
House Speaker William G. Batchelder,
R-Medina, told The Enquirer on Jan. 7 that the ethics committee, which he
chairs, was investigating Beck.
Mandel
Urges Legislators to Reject Kasich's Proposed Medicaid Expansion
Hannah
Report 2/12/13
Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel weighed in on the state budget debate this week, sending a letter to House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) and Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) urging them to reject Gov. John Kasich's proposed Medicaid expansion.
In a one-page letter, Mandel said that while the federal government is promising to pay for the expansion in the near term, he is concerned that an expansion of Medicaid "will overwhelm an already broken system and place an unbearable burden on generations of Ohioans."
In response to the letter, House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) spokesman Mike Dittoe said in a statement that the speaker “is appreciative of the comments made by Treasurer Mandel on this important issue and looks forward to discussing this more with the members of the House in the near future. Treasurer Mandel has been willing to serve our country on the battlefield and is an excellent public servant in the office of the Treasurer. He thanks Treasurer Mandel for his sincere thoughts on this issue, which the speaker believes further demonstrates his continuing commitment to the protection of our state and nation.”.
Legislators,
Farmers Connect on 'Ag Day at the Capitol'
Hannah
Report 2/13/13
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) held its 2013 Ag Day at the Capitol Tuesday by connecting bureau members with legislative leaders as the General Assembly prepares to dive into the budget.
House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) and Reps. Dave Hall (R-Millersburg) and Tim Derickson (R-Oxford) addressed the group and stressed the importance of Ohio's agriculture industry, urging farmers to share their input with Statehouse leaders whenever possible.
Hall, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said that one of his main priorities is to focus on so-called "orphan wells," abandoned oil wells with possible faulty structures. Hall explained that there are wells around the state that were stripped of their casing during World War II to be recycled for military use.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) held its 2013 Ag Day at the Capitol Tuesday by connecting bureau members with legislative leaders as the General Assembly prepares to dive into the budget.
House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) and Reps. Dave Hall (R-Millersburg) and Tim Derickson (R-Oxford) addressed the group and stressed the importance of Ohio's agriculture industry, urging farmers to share their input with Statehouse leaders whenever possible.
Hall, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said that one of his main priorities is to focus on so-called "orphan wells," abandoned oil wells with possible faulty structures. Hall explained that there are wells around the state that were stripped of their casing during World War II to be recycled for military use.
The largest rift yet among Republicans debating
an expansion of Medicaid opened up Tuesday with Treasurer Josh Mandel's call for the
GOP-led legislature to reject Gov. John Kasich's proposal.
Declaring there is "no free money,"
Mr. Mandel said in a letter to legislative leaders,
"If Ohio's leaders take the bait today, I fear that generations of Ohio
taxpayers will be on the hook for the long-term costs of expanding
Medicaid." Mr. Mandel said he was concerned that expanding Medicaid in
Ohio to cover all people up to 138% of the federal poverty level "will
overwhelm an already broken system and place an unbearable burden on
generations of Ohioans."
"While the proposed 'opt-out' trigger is a
well-intentioned safeguard to retract Medicaid's expansion if the federal
government reduces its funding share, I am concerned whether such a safeguard
would be honored in the future, because history has shown that once a
government benefit is given it is rarely taken away," the treasurer said.
Gov. Kasich argued in proposing the expansion -
an act that ran counter to many of his GOP counterparts in other states - that
it would positively impact Ohio's "job-friendly climate," insurance
premiums, hospitals and the mental health safety net.
Gov. Kasich has also pointed to the proposal's
expected "recapturing" of $13 billion in federal tax dollars over seven
years that could be invested in health care initiatives.
Even though 230,000 Ohioans who are already
eligible for Medicaid are expected to join with no additional federal
financing, the state's share of Medicaid expenses is expected to decrease by $23
million and $68 million during FY 2014 and FY 2015, respectively, because of
savings from those who leave the program and the federal government's coverage
of newly eligible individuals.
While GOP lawmakers have privately expressed
reservations with the governor's plan and Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) has
predicted it could be a hard sell for his caucus, a broad coalition of
supporters, including some conservative-minded groups such as Ohio Right to
Life, has coalesced around the budget bill (HB 59
) proposal.
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