Starting Jan. 1, mostly childless adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $16,000 for a one-person household, can begin receiving health care coverage under the state-federal program. The childless adults who would gain health coverage include many long-time unemployed, mentally ill, veterans and prison inmates. [...] Gov. John Kasich said in a prepared statement, “Together with the General Assembly we’ve improved both the quality of care from Medicaid and its value for taxpayers. Today’s action takes another positive step in this mutual effort. ”

A legislative oversight panel in Ohio has approved Gov. John Kasich's plan to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, in an end-run around the state's Republican-dominated legislature which refused to pass the expansion. This means more than 275,000 people in the state will now have health coverage.Senate Republicans immediately said they'd try to pass a $400 million income tax cut, taking advantage of the $2.56 billion in federal money the state will receive for the expansion. They've also threatened to sue, as well as to severely curtail the power of the state's Controlling Board, the legislative panel that approved Kasich's plan. If Kasich wasn't already likely to have a tea party challenger in 2014, it's a given, now. Obviously, for most of these Republicans, getting health care to more low-income Ohioans is the worst thing imaginable.