Reuters: Politics: Obamacare supporters in Ohio begin petition drive to expand Medicaid

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Obamacare supporters in Ohio begin petition drive to expand Medicaid Sep 19th 2013, 22:24 By Mary Wisniewski Thu Sep 19, 2013 6:24pm EDT (Reuters) - An Ohio panel on Thursday approved a petition designed to pressure the Republican-led state legislature to expand the Medicaid health program for the poor as part of President Barack Obama's health reform law. The aim is to allow about 275,000 additional Ohio residents to be eligible for Medicaid under the new reform law, a proposal supported by Republican Governor John Kasich but not yet acted on by state lawmakers. The Ohio Ballot Board, which considers proposed ballot initiatives, gave the go ahead for the group called "Healthy Ohioans Work" to start gathering about 116,000 signatures needed to get lawmakers to consider the issue. If the coalition of businesses, health care providers, consumer advocates and labor unions gets the signatures, the proposal goes before the legislature. If lawmakers do not approve or take no action after four months, supporters can circulate another petition to get the issue before voters on the November 2014 ballot. "Waiting to place this issue before the voters in November 2014 is not an ideal scenario," said Jon Allison, a spokesman for Healthy Ohioans Work. Kasich, who opposes Obamacare, had endorsed the expansion of Medicaid last February, raising hopes that Ohio would join some 25 states and the District of Columbia moving forward with expanding Medicaid. Another 22 states are opposed to Medicaid expansion and three, including Ohio, are still debating the issue, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The expansion of Medicaid is a major plank of the health reform law which aims to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health insurance. (Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Greg McCune and Tim Dobbyn) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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