Ohio agrees to Medicaid expansion

last updated 8 January 2015

Ohio Gov. John Kasich this week became the fifth Republican governor to accept the expansion of Medicaid in his state under the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court allowed states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion, and nine GOP-ruled states have already done so. Conservatives hope that if enough governors opt out, the expansion will be scrapped. Kasich joins Arizona’s Jan Brewer among the ones who have accepted the plan. Kasich argued that he didn’t want Ohioans’ federal tax dollars to be given to other states. Chris Littleton, Ohio director of grassroots conservative group American Majority Action, said the decision would “weaken him with the conservative base.”