Teachers Union President Siphons $1 Million From Ohio Educators

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. Outgoing Ohio Education Association (OEA) President Patricia Frost-Brooks was paid a total of $998,949 from 2008-2012, the first five years of her six-year tenure. Thanks to union contracts that existed long before many current teachers were hired, the vast majority of OEA’s revenue comes from more than… Continue reading Teachers Union President Siphons $1 Million From Ohio Educators

Ohio Republican Party Strives to Stifle Obamacare Dissent

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. A Media Trackers attempt to learn local Ohio Republican Party (ORP) leaders’ opinions of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion prompted an odd reaction from one county chairman, who instructed all county chairs to delete the inquiry from an “enemy blogger.” On August 12, Media Trackers reached out to… Continue reading Ohio Republican Party Strives to Stifle Obamacare Dissent

Gov. Kasich’s Obamacare Talking Points Trainwreck

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. Governor John Kasich, who warned in 2010 that Obamacare would “require more Medicaid spending and stick states with large and unsustainable costs,” has been trying to stick Ohio with those costs for six months. If he has compelling reasons for doing so, he has not shared them. A 2012… Continue reading Gov. Kasich’s Obamacare Talking Points Trainwreck

Study Suggests Medicaid Expansion Would Cut Ohio’s Workforce

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. The Obamacare Medicaid expansion could reduce nationwide employment by up to 940,000, a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper released this month estimated. If every state implemented the expansion sought by Ohio Governor John Kasich, as many as 4.2 million Americans would be pushed from private health insurance into… Continue reading Study Suggests Medicaid Expansion Would Cut Ohio’s Workforce

Gov. Kasich Pretends Obamacare is Not Obamacare

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. Governor John Kasich is now insisting the Obamacare Medicaid expansion “is not about Obamacare,” in an attempt to message his fight for new deficit spending around conservative opposition and months of bad news about President Obama’s unpopular 2010 health law. Expanding Medicaid — an ineffective entitlement program that already consumes nearly… Continue reading Gov. Kasich Pretends Obamacare is Not Obamacare

Ohio Teachers Forced to Pay Union Employees an Average of $100,000

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. The average Ohio Education Association (OEA) employee was paid $43,838 more than Ohio’s average teacher in 2012, as OEA staff and officers raked in an average of $100,553 while the teachers forced to pay received an average of $56,715. Statewide average annual pay was $44,253 in 2012,… Continue reading Ohio Teachers Forced to Pay Union Employees an Average of $100,000

Kasich Tugs Heartstrings, Spins Falsehoods at Medicaid Expansion Rally

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. Governor John Kasich stuck to his practiced Medicaid expansion pitch – a mix of progressive pseudo-Christianity and outright falsehoods about the program’s funding – during a speech at a July 9 Statehouse rally for socialized medicine. As his administration has done for months, the Republican governor conflated Medicaid coverage with “health… Continue reading Kasich Tugs Heartstrings, Spins Falsehoods at Medicaid Expansion Rally

Ohio Budget Reactions: Newspapers Fixate on Abortion, Medicaid Expansion

Reactions to Ohio’s new budget from the state’s largest newspapers have been remarkably similar, with almost every reporter emphasizing Governor John Kasich’s veto of a measure blocking Medicaid expansion and his refusal to veto pro-life language. Kasich, a Republican, signed the budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 on June 30. Clocking in at more… Continue reading Ohio Budget Reactions: Newspapers Fixate on Abortion, Medicaid Expansion

Columbus Dispatch Gives Medicaid Expansion Backers a Giant Boost

Cross-posted from the archived Media Trackers Ohio site. News coverage from The Columbus Dispatch quoted supporters of Medicaid expansion 114 times between February 4 and June 18 while quoting the policy’s opponents just 40 times, a review of Dispatch reporting reveals. Based on a LexisNexis search, the paper reported on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion… Continue reading Columbus Dispatch Gives Medicaid Expansion Backers a Giant Boost

Talking Medicaid Expansion with Brian Thomas on 55KRC

Yesterday I discussed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion with Brian Thomas at 55KRC in Cincinnati. Listen to our 7:30 AM June 25, 2013 conversation here: Stories cited in the segment: John Kasich’s Billion-Dollar Medicaid Expansion Bluff More Than a Quarter of Ohio Doctors Reject New Medicaid Patients Oregon Study: Another Medicaid Expansion Red… Continue reading Talking Medicaid Expansion with Brian Thomas on 55KRC