Lawmakers, Groups Sue To Block Ohio Medicaid Expansion

Just days after Ohio Gov. John Kasich used the powers of an osbcure legislative board to expand Medicaid coverage in the Buckeye State, six lawmakers and two pro-life groups have filed suit to stop the plan.

The suit, filed with the Ohio Supreme Court last Tuesday, seeks to enjoin Kasich's plan to expand Medicaid to about 365,000 low-income residents in 2014 by accepting $2.6 billion in federal funds in order to do so.

The suit argues that Kasich's use of the seven-member Ohio Controlling Board usurped the legislative intent of the Ohio General Assembly.

"The Ohio Controlling Board's expansion of Medicaid violates the clear limits on its own authority, and accordingly, also violates the clear limits of the Ohio Constitution," the lawsuit contends. Along with the six lawmakers, all Republicans, the plaintiffs include The Cleveland Right to Life and Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati Inc.

Kasich, a Republican, has advocated for Medicaid expansion, stating his belief in a strong safety net for the poor, and likely to appease a left-leaning constituency ahead of his reelection campaign next year. Kasich has been tilting more toward the political center after voters overturned a law that had set aside collective bargaining by the state's employees.

However, that position has put him at odds with much of the rest of his party, which has been vocally opposed to the Affordable Care Act. Only half of the states have agreed to expand Medicaid using 100% federal funding over the next three years, and 90% in the years after. Virtually all that have agreed to do so have either Democratic governors or Democratically-controlled legislatures.

Wrangling over the issue in the Ohio statehouse has kept Medicaid expansion from actually going to a vote, leading to Kasich's controversial move to take the issue of expansion to the Controlling Board. Two conservative members of that board were replaced with Kasich allies just days before the vote took place.

In Ohio's case, the Medicaid expansion per the authorization of the Board of Control is limited to June 2015, when the current state budget that is in place is expired. The Legislature would have to vote to continue expanded Medicaid coverage after that date.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are already drafting a bill that could limit the use of the board's power for similar funding issues in the future. And signatures are also being gathered for a petition that could put the ultimate decision to the state's voters.

The first hearing on the lawsuit has yet to be scheduled.