An Ohio legislative board voted Monday to fund Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, the last step toward its adoption, at the request of Republican Gov. John Kasich’s administration to circumvent a hostile state legislature.
The request passed the seven-member board 5-2 to fund the expansion for two years, according to the Columbus Dispatch. It will cover up to 275,000 additional low-income people.
That followed the Kasich administration request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand the program’s eligiblity, which was approved. The whole manuever could, however, be subject to legal challenges from conservatives, according to the Associated Press.
As TPM previously reported, Kasich’s office sought a roundabout way to adopt the expansion after being stymied by the state legislature earlier this year. He therefore expanded the program unilaterally and then sought approval for the funding from the legislative board.
