COLUMBUS, Ohio - State Rep. Mike Foley condemned Republican House members on Monday, reacting to news reports that the majority caucus has decided to scuttle Gov. John Kasich's proposed Medicaid expansion.

House Speaker William G. Batchelder and other key GOP members are expected on Tuesday afternoon to officially reveal the details of their retooled version of Kasich's "Jobs Budget 2.0."

"I am sickened by the news that House Republicans would rather play politics with over 300,000 Ohioans' health and well-being instead of promoting sound and responsible health care policy in our state," Foley, a Cleveland Democrat, said in a statement. "It seems that a small minority of Republicans in the Ohio House are holding strong policy, good sense and common decency hostage, and that is extremely troubling."

Spokesmen for Batchelder and Kasich would not comment on the reports or confirm them.

The Republican governor's proposal would provide coverage to Ohioans making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

House Democrats have praised Kasich's proposal, which could bring nearly $13 billion to the state over seven years and add about 275,000 people to the program. Kasich has framed the issue as a test of religious faith and compassion, saying last week, "when it comes particularly to poor people, there is no partisanship."

But conservative Republicans have balked at expanding a government program, and Tea Party activists have threatened primaries against GOP lawmakers who vote for the expansion.

Some Republicans say they fear an expansion could leave the state in the lurch if the federal government doesn't live up to its end of the bargain, which spurred talks of including an opt-out clause in the budget bill. Lawmakers also discussed allowing some to use Medicaid money to purchase individual coverage through insurance exchanges that could be set up for Ohio.

The Northeast Ohio Medicaid Expansion Coalition was dismayed by reports the governor's plan may be dead.

"We are extremely disappointed that legislators are seeing expansion through a political lens rather than thinking first about the people of Ohio," Ari Lipman, a spokesperson for the coalition, said in a statement.

Supporters are organizing a bus trip to Columbus Thursday to urge lawmakers to accept the expansion.

The Rev. Gayle Catinella of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Berea, spokeswoman for the Greater Cleveland Congregations, said in a statement that rejecting the expansion would be a "terrible blow. . . to our region's economy, health, families, and ability to grow jobs."

House members have spent weeks poring over nearly 800 proposed amendments to Kasich's two-year, $63 billion budget, which could become unrecognizable once House members officially divulge their plan.