More details on how Medicaid expansion might end in Ohio
I reported Friday how language in Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget bill could mean the end of Medicaid expansion in Ohio.
Specifically, the 4,000-plus page bill has what’s called a “trigger law.” If it makes it into the final version of the bill this summer, it would go into effect if Congress were to reduce how much the federal government spends covering the program.
Currently, about 770,000 poor, working Ohioans are covered by Medicaid expansion, which cost taxpayers $8.73 billion in 2024. The feds pay about $7.85 billion, or 90% of the cost, a significantly higher percentage than other groups covered by Medicaid. Any reduction in the match would have huge budgetary consequences for Ohio.
Stephanie O’Grady, a spokesperson for the Ohio Medicaid department, said this week that the language is meant to protect state taxpayers from being “on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars” while protecting “Ohio’s discretion to determine how to proceed if the federal match percentage were to ever change in the future.”
O’Grady also said ending Medicaid expansion would require approval from the Trump administration’s U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That means it could not be implemented immediately.
Senate President Rob McColley, a Republican, reiterated the financial concerns in comments to reporters on Wednesday while acknowledging ending Medicaid expansion would harm rural hospitals.
Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, a Democrat, meanwhile said Ohio could figure out how to pay for the reduced federal match if necessary. She floated raising business taxes by cutting existing exemptions. “I think it’s very doable… if we had the will to do it,” she said.
Is it likely Medicaid expansion gets axed?
I’m not an expert on Congress, since my focus is the state government in Columbus. But House Republicans are considering a menu of Medicaid cuts, including paying a smaller, fixed amount to states for Medicaid enrollees rather than guaranteeing coverage – which would be a huge reduction – according to the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said in a Fox News interview that aired Tuesday that besides reducing fraud, “Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched.”
Vivek signals gubernatorial announcement coming next week
Vivek Ramaswamy has been telegraphing for a while now that he plans to run to be Ohio’s next governor. He has filed state paperwork forming a campaign committee and even launched a website called VivekAnnouncement.com late last week.
What’s the announcement? That he’s making a “big announcement” on Monday, the website says.
That’s when Ramaswamy is expected to officially launch his campaign for governor in the 2026 Republican primary election. He has two events scheduled Monday – the first in Cincinnati, where he grew up, and then in the Columbus area, where lives now. He has two more follow-up events scheduled on Tuesday, in Toledo and Strongsville.
Early RSVPs for the event suggest Ramaswamy, who built national political celebrity through a failed run for president in 2024, is stoking enthusiasm among the Republican rank and file. His campaign says 2,606 people have said they plan to attend one of the four events, including 1,091 in Strongsville and 734 in Cincinnati.
The race’s only other major Republican candidate is state Attorney General Dave Yost, although new Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel is a potential wildcard. Dr. Amy Acton, the former state health director, is the only Democratic candidate for governor so far.
Possible marijuana law changes coming soon
An Ohio Senate committee was scheduled to advance Senate Bill 56 on Wednesday. It would revise the marijuana law Ohio voters approved in November 2023. But the committee vote was postponed.
State Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican who chairs the committee reviewing the legislation, said the delay happened for two reasons: to give senators more time to consider feedback from proponents and opponents, and because the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Steve Huffman, is in Kentucky helping with flooding relief efforts.
“It is likely that there will be a vote on SB56 next week,” Roegner said in a text message. McColley told reporters Wednesday if the committee passes the bill next week, the full Senate likely will too.
SB56 would reduce the number of marijuana plants people can grow at home from 12 to six and lower the potency of THC levels in cannabis products from 90% to 70%, among other changes. It also would have hiked taxes slightly on marijuana and changed how proceeds were spent.
But senators amended the marijuana tax changes out of the bill, as debate on that topic has shifted into state budget negotiations after Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a bigger hike on marijuana taxes to pay for policing and jails in his budget plan. If the Senate passes SB56, it would need approval from the House before it would go to DeWine’s desk for his signature.
Taking a short break for spring training
State Signals won’t be publishing next Thursday. That’s because I’m headed to Goodyear, Arizona, for a few days to watch the Cleveland Guardians’ spring training.
I’ll be back the following week, tanned, rested and ready for more political baseball – and hopefully excited for another season of winning Cleveland baseball, too.
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