Think tank: GOP health care plan could cost Ohio billions

COLUMBUS (AP) — A nonpartisan think tank says Ohio would lose billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under the Republican plan to replace former President Barack Obama’s health-care law.

A new analysis by the Cleveland-based Center for Community Solutions concludes the plan could cost Ohio more than $25 billion by 2025.

The GOP plan would change how the federal government helps states pay for the tax-funded health-insurance program. The center’s analysis says the resulting payments wouldn’t be enough in Ohio to keep pace with health-care costs.

The state expanded Medicaid in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, and it now serves more than 3 million poor and disabled Ohioans.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Ohio’s proposed Medicaid budget for next year is projected at $28 billion, including federal funding.