Legislature should heed Kasich

Legislature should heed Kasich

Toledo Blade: Mother’s Day is over for the year, but the health-care needs of working-class Ohio mothers and their children remain acute. State lawmakers should address these needs promptly, not shove them aside for another year — or forever.

The Republican-dominated General Assembly continues to ignore GOP Gov. John Kasich’s plea to expand Ohio’s Medicaid program of health insurance for low-income and disabled people. Mr. Kasich’s expansion plan would reduce medical costs borne by taxpayers, employers, and people with private insurance. Its emphasis on preventive care would improve public health, strengthening families and communities.

Their opposition to Medicaid expansion is rooted less in sound policy than in partisan politics — an effort to placate the hard-right, anti-Obamacare zealots who could exert disproportionate influence in the GOP primaries many lawmakers may face next year.