Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel voiced his opposition to expanding Medicaid in a February 11 letter to leaders of the Ohio General Assembly, Gongwer News reported. Mandel is the first state official to publicly speak out against Governor John Kasich’s proposed adoption of a key piece of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Mandel urged House Speaker William Batchelder and Senate President Keith Faber “to prudently consider the long-term financial implications of voluntarily implementing the Medicaid expansion in Ohio and to reject this expansion during the budget process.”
Governor Kasich, a Republican, announced his intent to expand Medicaid as part of his February 4 budget plan for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Kasich’s announcement was coordinated with the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, a socialized medicine lobbying group devoted to full implementation of PPACA.
Mandel, also a Republican, was elected treasurer in 2010 and challenged incumbent fringe-left U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in November 2012. Hostility to big government and unsustainable spending were focal points for both of Mandel’s statewide campaigns.
“Though the federal government is promising to pay for most of the expansion in the near term, it is currently borrowing approximately 40 cents of every dollar it spends,” Mandel wrote to the Republican leaders of the state legislature. “I am concerned that expanding Medicaid in Ohio will overwhelm an already broken system and place an unbearable burden on generations of Ohioans.”
Governor Kasich has argued that Ohio must embrace PPACA’s Medicaid expansion in order to get its “fair share” of federal funds, which – according to the Kasich administration – would help Ohio’s economy. The governor has also suggested the expansion could be rolled back if Washington cuts funding below the promised levels.
“While the proposed ‘opt-out’ trigger is a well-intentioned safeguard to retract Medicaid’s expansion of 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,” Mandel wrote.
“There is no free money,” he added. “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 also noted that national debt already exceeds $16.4 trillion, and entitlement spending is expected to surpass average tax revenues by 2045. As Media Trackers reported prior to the release of Governor Kasich’s budget, these issues have traditionally been major concerns for the governor as well.
“As Ohioans, we share a common fate with all Americans,” Mandel concluded. “Whether taxed by the state or the federal government, the Ohio taxpayers of tomorrow will inevitably shoulder the costs of a debt-funded Medicaid expansion.”
“For these reasons, I urge you to reject an expansion of Medicaid in Ohio.”
This marks the second time in as many weeks that Mandel has staked out a conservative position on an issue other Republicans are hesitant to discuss. At a January 31 press event, Mandel told reporters he supports making Ohio a right to work state, which would prevent unions from collecting mandatory dues.
The Ohio Liberty Coalition (OLC), an umbrella organization of liberty-minded groups across the state, posted a transcript of Mandel’s Medicaid expansion letter on February 13. OLC has indicated that state legislators who back the PPACA Medicaid expansion should expect primary challenges in the next election.
Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site.