Kasich's No. 2 would dismantle key response to opioid crisis: Medicaid

COLUMBUS - Gov. John Kasich's chosen successor just promised to dismantle his main response to the state's crippling opioid epidemic.

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor – Kasich's No. 2 and the candidate he picked to replace him – plans to end Medicaid coverage for Ohio's 700,000 lower-income residents, a provision of Obamacare that conservatives have railed against for years.

Taylor has been a longtime, if somewhat quiet, opponent of Kasich's decision to expand Medicaid to lower-income Ohioans – a move he made against the pleas of several GOP lawmakers. Kasich, who also bucked Republican convention again by declining to endorse President Donald Trump, has called the decision a moral one to help the poor and addicted residents of the state.

Taylor simply sees it as a costly one.

"Medicaid is an important safety net for our most vulnerable citizens, but the expansion is unsustainable," Taylor said in Cleveland Monday. "As governor, I will end Medicaid expansion."

States are picking up more of the tab for these Medicaid recipients – a concern that led Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature to freeze new enrollment after July 1, 2018. But Kasich vetoed that, and it's not clear if lawmakers have enough votes to override him.

Congressional Republicans promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, but they haven't passed a plan yet. Uncertainty over health care has led insurance providers, most notably Anthem in Ohio, to leave the state exchanges.

Taylor's idea: A monthly fee

Instead of Medicaid, Taylor proposed that lower-income Ohioans would pay a monthly fee to doctors for preventative care and purchase insurance for bigger expenses such as hospital visits.

But what about the growing number of overdose deaths? Kasich has touted Medicaid as a key response to state's opioid epidemic. Even Democrats who say Ohio needs more money for that fight have lauded Kasich's choice on Medicaid.

"Helping more people get healthy, get clean and get jobs is really a no-brainer for Ohioans in need, employers and taxpayers," Kasich's spokesman Jon Keeling said after Taylor's announcement.

But Taylor, who recently revealed her sons have struggled with addiction, says the monthly fee would work for treatment of mental health and addiction problems, too. She also proposed health savings accounts for Ohioans who work multiple part-time jobs and have no access to health insurance.

Despite Taylor's proposal to gut Kasich's expansion, Kasich has no plans to rescind his endorsement. Taylor informed Kasich of her plan to denounce Medicaid expansion, and Kasich didn't try to talk her out of it, Taylor spokesman Michael Duchesne said.

Where the other Republicans stand

Would Kasich's Medicaid expansion survive under another GOP gubernatorial hopeful? Probably not.

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who has pitched himself as the Trump voters' pick, has backed multiple GOP plans to replace Obamacare. Renacci welcomed Taylor to his side Monday while bashing Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for not taking more forceful stances against Medicaid.

"Both Husted and DeWine are illustrating precisely why Ohioans will not send another Columbus career politician to the governor’s office in 2018,” Renacci said in a news release.

DeWine, who joined U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit that challenged Obamacare, and Husted both called Obamacare financially unsustainable but stopped short of saying they would kill insurance for lower-income Ohioans. In statements, they pinned their hopes on Congress to come up with a fix.

"It is our hope the version of Obamacare repeal that is ultimately signed by the president will give hope to a generation of Ohioans who need care and give adequate resources for Ohio to aggressively battle the opioid crisis," DeWine's campaign manager Dave Luketic said.

"We need to know how the federal government will fund and change the program before we even know Ohio's options, but Jon Husted will not support the continuation of an underfunded and broken system," Husted spokesman Josh Eck said.

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