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Ohio Gov. John Kasich delivers his State of the State address at Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center in Lima, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski) / AP

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Gov. John Kasich used his State of the State speech Tuesday night to plead with members of the Legislature – including skeptical members of his own party – to expand Medicaid to provide health coverage to more poor Ohioans.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to bring $13 billion back to Ohio to fix our problems,” Kasich said. “It makes sense to bring this money home. It’s health coverage for the poor, a great number of them the working poor. What are you going to do, leave them out on the street? Are you going to leave them under bridges?”

In this third State of the State speech, the governor took a more serious tone than usual. . Absent were the numerous ad-libs and shout-outs to people in the audience, though there were a few. Last year, for example, he mentioned Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee 13 times. This year Ohio State didn’t get a single mention.

Testing what is sure to be the outline of his campaign speech when he seeks re-election in 2014, Kasich hit general high points of the past two years in the 60-minute address at the Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center here. The evening speech marked the second time Kasich has taken it outside its traditional home at the Ohio statehouse in Columbus. Last year, Kasich gave the address in Steubenville.

He got a cool reception when he talked about Medicaid. And the 1,600 people who attended the governor’s annual State of the State address here were silent when the governor talked about raising taxes on companies that extract oil and natural gas from under Ohio.

(more…)

Posted in: News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: economy, health care, John Kasich, medicaid, ohio

Lisa Bernard-Kuhn reports:

Countless health care groups and non-profits applauded Gov. John Kasich’s decision Monday to expand Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands low-income Ohioans under his proposed two-year state budget.

The move positions Ohio among a growing contingent of Republican-led states that are leaning toward extending coverage, an option given to states under the federal Affordable Care Act, the law dubbed Obamacare and opposed by most GOP officials.

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The proposal will now be up to Ohio’s legislature to decide. That means Kasich will have to get to work converting members of his own party in order to bring $13 billion in federal funds to the state and extend coverage to at least 275,000 additional low-income Ohioans.

“I am not a supporter of Obamacare,” Kasich said Monday, “but I think (Medicaid expansion) makes great sense for the state because it will allow us to deliver care using our dollars for people who, up until now, haven’t been able to afford (healthcare insurance) through their job, or they were not able to find a job.”

About 2.2 million Ohioans currently have Medicaid coverage.

Kasich estimated that at least 275,000 more Ohioans would be eligible under the expanded program. But other estimates show as many as 600,000 Ohioans could be eligible.

Another 300,000 Ohioans are expected to fall into a category officials call the “woodwork effect”: People who are currently eligible but not enrolled and expected to sign up in the coming years. The federal government would not be on the hook for covering the costs those individuals, officials have said.

(more…)

Posted in: News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: affordable care act, budget, coverage, expansion, health care, John Kasich, medicaid, obamacare, ohio

Gov. John Kasich says that Ohio will let the federal government run its health care exchange. / AP file photo

Cliff Peale reports:

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: affordable care act, exchange, health care, John Kasich, kasich, medicaid, obamacare, ohio

Gov. John Kasich hasn’t yet announced a decision about how Ohio will comply with the Affordable Care Act. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

Must pick method to implement next step of Obamacare

Cliff Peale and Barry M. Horstman reports:

Ohio is trying to retain some control of a health care exchange mandated by the Affordable Care Act, even as it probably will default operations to the federal government.

Even with a federal-run exchange, state control could include certifying health plans that participate and determining Medicaid eligibility.

Meant to provide affordable policies to those without insurance, the exchanges are a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law. They are one of the latest flashpoints in implementing the law.

States have until Friday to declare if they will operate their own health care exchange. They also can default to a federally run exchange or choose a hybrid model, with deadlines later in those cases.

Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, hasn’t announced a decision, but it appears unlikely that Ohio will operate the exchange itself.

Kentucky, with a Democratic governor, has moved aggressively toward its own state exchange, using about $66 million in federal grants to create and implement the marketplace. Indiana, with Republican leadership, is expected to default to the feds.

With Obama’s re-election Nov. 6, the law colloquially known as “Obamacare” will remain in place, but setting up the exchanges is among dozens of steps before it is fully implemented in 2014.

“We now know what the playing field is,” said Robyn Chatman, a primary care doctor and president of the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati. “For those who don’t like it, at least they know what to expect.”

Decisions on how to implement the ACA will impact millions of Ohioans. (more…)

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: affordable care act, exchange, gene beupre, health care, John Kasich, kasich, medicaid, obamacare, ohio

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

A supervisor who stole thousands of dollars from the Warren County Department of Human Services and illegally approved food stamps for acquaintances will spend the next four years in prison.

Rebecca L. Green, who was charged using the surname Butcher, pleaded guilty Thursday to three felony counts of theft in office and two felony charges of tampering with records. In exchange for the plea, 15 charges were dismissed. She faced a maximum 45 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Judge Robert Peeler, of Warren County Common Pleas Court, sentenced Green immediately and ordered her to pay $146,300 in restitution.

“Without question, the overwhelming majority of public employees are honest, hardworking professionals who are dedicated to performing the services entrusted to them by the public,” said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell. “Unfortunately, Ms. Butcher broke that trust, and in the process damaged the reputations of her co-workers, the Department of Human Services, and Warren County government itself.”

The 51-year-old Turtlecreek Township resident was fired from her job last year after 28 years with the county after a state audit revealed discrepancies.

An investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and United States department of Health and Human Services found that Green stole cash payments made by Medicaid recipients to meet eligibility thresholds, and manipulated recipients’ files to make it appear they were eligible for benefits when they were not. Those individuals received benefits they were not entitled to receive, Fornshell said.

Green was accused of approving $70,694 in Medicaid benefits and $10,135 in food stamps to people who weren’t eligible.

Authorities said she also pocketed $77,045 in payments from clients who were required to pay some money to be eligible for benefits in a process that is otherwise known as spend-down payments.

Posted in: Crime, News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: david fornshell, food stamps, judge robert peeler, medicaid, prison, rebecca butcher, rebecca green, tampering with records, theft, warren county, warren county common pleas court, warren county department of human services, warren county prosecutor

Paul McKibben and Sheila McLaughlin report:

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell, state and federal officials are having a press conference Monday afternoon to talk about the latest development in the investigation into the state auditor’s findings about unaccounted funds at Warren County Department of Human Services.

The department handles food assistance, Medicaid and other services.

Prosecutors and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office launched last year a joint criminal investigation into the disappearance of $75,661 from the Warren County Department of Job and Family Services.

The discovery was made during a recent county financial audit for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010, Fornshell said last October.

The state audit report, which cited numerous record-keeping problems at the agency, said that six former and current Warren County JFS employees and a former worker are ordered to pay back $75,661 as a result of the state review. A female supervisor was responsible for most of it – $73,189.

The missing money came in the form of “spend-down” payments collected from clients who earn too much to qualify outright for Medicaid assistance, the audit said. Until recently, clients made monthly cash payments to the agency to meet eligibility requirements and receive a medical card.

“One person … was involved and then influenced other workers to violate protocol. I’m very concerned that multiple employees did not follow the procedures they are supposed to follow. I’m confident that there is not a far-reaching theft problem. My understanding is that there was theft by one employee,” County Commissioner Dave Young said last year.

The supervisor also was accused of authorizing benefits for friends and relatives who did not qualify for them, he said.

The Enquirer will update this story.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: david fornshell, food assistance, investigation, medicaid, ohio attorney general's office, prosecutor, warren county, warren county department of human services, warren county job and family services