Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site.
Advocacy of Medicaid expansion from The Columbus Dispatch hasn’t been limited to the paper’s opinion pages. The Dispatch has aided Governor John Kasich’s push for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion with months of slanted news coverage.
Here are 5 of the worst examples.
“In an 8,900-word State of the State speech stretching more than an hour on Tuesday, Gov. John Kasich was mostly on the money with his facts and figures.”
“State of the State Analysis: Speech held little to nitpick“
02/21/2013, by Joe Vardon & Jim Siegel
Four months after Kasich’s annual State of the State speech, the Dispatch still has not acknowledged that the governor’s February 19 Medicaid expansion remarks were riddled with falsehoods.
“One argument against Gov. John Kasich’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage to 275,000 more Ohioans persists even though it was shot down two months ago.”
“Sebelius countered Medicaid argument“
02/24/2013, by Darrel Rowland
The argument in question is that Ohio will not be able to roll back Medicaid expansion if DC cuts funding; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has tried to convince states to expand Medicaid with non-binding assurances that they’ll be free to opt out later.
“Conservatives are influential with many majority Republicans in the House, who already are skeptical about Kasich’s proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $18,250 a year for an individual — despite wide support from Ohio businesses, hospitals and other health-care providers, and advocates for the uninsured.”
“Medicaid expansion opposed“
03/14/2013, by Catherine Candisky
In a 501-word news story quoting only 2 of 5 conservative experts from a House panel that included state and national policy leaders, the Dispatch made a point of reminding readers that everyone who’s anyone supports Medicaid expansion.
“Phillips is among the estimated 275,000 uninsured Ohioans who would gain coverage under Gov. John Kasich’s plan to expand Ohio’s Medicaid program for the poor and disabled to those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”
“Jobless man can’t pay bills for care he needs“
04/06/2013, by Catherine Candisky
The Dispatch devoted a 489-word news story to this single anecdote – a dozen fewer words than were spent reporting on House testimony from a panel of conservative policy experts.
“Ohio will forgo $13 billion in federal aid over the next seven years that would have paid for health care for thousands of uninsured Ohioans under a budget plan House GOP leaders will unveil this afternoon”
“Sitting this one out“
“Supporters of the Medicaid expansion note that lawmakers not only will forgo the billions in aid from Washington, they also will give up $400 million in savings and spend an additional $100 million in state tax dollars instead of using federal money to free up local levy money for mental-health and addiction services.”
04/09/2013, by Catherine Candisky & Jim Siegel
This 1019-word front-page story, with 6 paragraphs of quotes from 2 Medicaid expansion supporters and no quotes from any of the policy’s critics, appeared on the dispatch.com home page under the headline “GOP legislators would rather sit it out than take extra Medicaid money,” accompanied by a graphic of an elephant with a Gadsden flag sitting on an Uncle Sam hat full of cash.
The “$400 million in savings” and “$100 million in state tax dollars” cited over and over by the Dispatch are estimates based on the assumption that federal deficit spending is free money, and those dollar amounts thrown around as additional reasons to expand Medicaid are part of the $13 billion figure.