Ohio bill would extend Medicaid, add cost sharing

COLUMBUS (AP) — A Republican state lawmaker is proposing to link Medicaid expansion in Ohio to job training that could ultimately reduce the need for participation in the program.

A bill introduced today by state Rep. Barbara Sears, a suburban Toledo Republican, would mean roughly 366,000 Ohioans would be newly eligible for the state-federal Medicaid program.

Unlike an earlier version of Medicaid expansion promoted by Gov. John Kasich, Sears’ proposal would connect new Medicaid enrollees to state job-training services in the hopes of reducing the need for the coverage in the future.

New enrollees are fully funded for the first three years by the federal government under Democratic President Barack Obama’s health-care law.

Republican lawmakers scrapped Kasich’s plan. Sears says leaders were involved in the process and aware of the bill.