Medicaid expansion a major challenge under Affordable Care Act
By Bob Robinson

GREENVILLE – “In 1988 Medicaid consumed 16.9 percent of our budget,” said Ohio Senate President Keith Faber. “Today – without expansion – it consumes 50.2 percent of our budget.” 

He added the challenge is to “go down the path of opportunity” and make Medicaid more efficient. “It could approach 90 percent of the budget,” he said. 

Earlier Ohio State Representative Richard Adams told Chamber of Commerce members Medicaid is insurance for the poor and is the basic expenditure in the Ohio budget. It would expand under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

“We don’t have enough money to pay for this,” he said. 

The event was the Chamber’s annual State of the State Luncheon Sept. 27 in the Brick Room at Brethren Retirement Community. Speakers were Faber, Adams, State Representative Jim Buchy and State Senator Bill Beagle. 

Adams said while nearly half of the states (24) have agreed to participate in the expanded Medicaid program as part of the ACA, 18 have said no and eight are “thinking about it.” Gov. John Kasich has signed on but it is still being debated in the Legislature. 

Currently two million Ohioans are on Medicaid. Expansion could add 366,000 more. 

While Adams’ topic was Medicaid and Medicaid Reform, Buchy’s was school state funding. 

He told COC members the eight largest cities in Ohio get the most education funding, “the rest of us get what’s left.” He went on to note no school got cut while 421 schools got increases. 

“Every school district in Darke County got an increase,” Buchy said. 

The average funding per student per year in Darke County is about $10,000. In Cleveland it’s $15,000. 

“Cleveland has a graduation rate of 50 percent. If any school had that here there’d be a revolution.” He went on to say West Central Ohio is blessed with the best schools in the state. In Buchy’s district, 16 school districts got an A. There were three B’s and one C. 

Buchy noted in the big eight city schools there is no FFA or 4H. “We have them… they develop leaders.” 

Starting next fall Cleveland will have a high school FFA program in food science. Ohio State University Extension is starting a 4H program in the classroom for Kindergarten through sixth grade. 

“The idea is to build a success rate,” Buchy said. “Twenty years from now every school will have both.” 

State Senator Bill Beagle talked about workforce development, noting they have developed a survey tool that will be going out to businesses. 

“We want to identify business needs,” he added, “and work to meet those needs.” 

Faber addressed the Biennial Budget Tax Reform Package. 

“Four years ago,” he said, “there was 84 cents in the rainy day fund and an $8 billion deficit. Now we have a balanced budget and $1.4 billion in the rainy day fund. We were losing 100,000 jobs a year. We’ve since gained 180,000 jobs. In tax competitiveness, we were not very competitive…” 

He told COC members this year’s budget will contain a $3.4 billion across the board income tax refund. 

“If you own a small business, this year’s budget cuts your taxes by 50 percent.” 

Faber noted the Legislature was doing this because it recognized 70 percent of jobs are created by small businesses. 

“Our goal is jobs,” he said. 

Published courtesy of The Early Bird