COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A group pressing for expansion of Medicaid in Ohio to cover the working poor began the process today to force the General Assembly to consider it or face having it go to voters.

Healthy Ohioans Work, a registered action committee, took the first step Wednesday when it filed paperwork with the Ohio attorney general for a law proposed by initiative petition. The proposal was accompanied by signatures from registered voters needed to get the process started.

The group involves much of the same coalition that has been advocating for expansion of Medicaid all year. That group includes physicians and hospitals and patient advocacy groups, organizations that support veterans and the mentally ill and the poor, churches, business organizations and labor groups.

Gov. John Kasich proposed expansion of the health care coverage as part of the budget plan he unveiled in February. Since then the coalition has lobbied legislators to expand Medicaid to cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

The federal government, under the Affordable Care Act, is committed to cover 100 percent of the costs of expansion in the initial years, and 90 percent in years after. It is expected that 250,000 to 300,000 Ohioans who do not have health insurance would get coverage with expansion.

But while the General Assembly has debated, Medicaid expansion has met stubborn opposition from conservative Republicans. No action appears imminent. The House isn’t even expected to return from summer recess until October.

Jon Allison, a Columbus attorney and spokesman for the group, said Wednesday that the ballot route is not the preferred route, because Ohio would miss out on federal support for 2014.

“Our highest hope and our greatest priority is to have Medicaid expansion authorized in 2013. We’re hopeful that putting this option on the table makes this more likely to happen,” Allison said.

But the group is not willing to wait and see if their efforts prod legislators into action.

“Unless there is quick action in the next couple of weeks, unless there is some ironclad sign that expansion is going to be authorized, I believe that the plan is to move forward with this first effort to gather signatures toward the end of December,” he said.

The attorney general has until Sept. 16 to review the summary of the proposed law, which calls for Ohio to expand Medicaid coverage to the fullest extent permitted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He also will verify that at least 1,000 of the 5,800 plus signatures submitted belong to registered voters.

If the attorney general agrees that the initial requirements are met, the group would start collecting signatures from more registered voters -- nearly 115,600 -- needed to put the proposed law before the Ohio General Assembly. Those signatures would have to be submitted to the secretary of state by late December.

“Health and human services advocates, health care providers and labor organizations together proved their dedication to this vital public policy issue by collecting more than 5,800 signatures in four days time over a holiday weekend,” Allison said. “These devoted individuals and organizations have been advocating for Medicaid extension for many months and will continue to press for legislative action.”

Collecting those signatures would put the law before the General Assembly when it reconvenes in 2014. If it fails to consider it in four months, the group would have to collect an additional 115,600 signatures to put the proposal before voters in November 2014.

Allison estimates that Healthy Ohio Works would have to raise $10 to $15 million for a successful campaign. His expectation is that groups that have been urging Medicaid expansion all along will be willing to help with a campaign.

“We anticipate that many of the hundreds of groups that have been pushing for legislative action on Medicaid extension are prepared to bring their volunteers voices and funds to the table to make this initiative process a success, if need be.”