By Jason Hart
SHOWING OHIO CARES: Gov. John Kasich has generously spent $5 billion in federal taxpayer money on his Obamacare expansion
September brought another milestone for Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s Obamacare expansion, and a heavier millstone for taxpayers stuck bearing the costs.
Kasich’s decision to put working-age Ohioans with no kids and no disabilities on Medicaid has cost federal taxpayers more than $5 billion in less than two years.
The Ohio Department of Medicaid reported spending $394 million on Obamacare expansion in September. Ohio’s Obamacare expansion has cost more than $300 million every month since December and more than $370 million every month since July.
After just 21 months of enrollment, Obamacare expansion costs dwarf state spending on programs long recognized as the state government’s basic responsibilities.
By contrast, Kasich’s Office of Budget and Management reported spending $133 million on justice and public protection and $206 million on primary and secondary education in September.
Even when non-General Revenue Fund spending on Obamacare expansion is excluded for the sake of an apples-to-apples comparison, Ohio spent nearly as much on Obamacare expansion as on public safety and K-12 education combined.
Kasich, a Republican, expanded Medicaid to bring new Obamacare funding to the state. The expansion has been rocketing past cost projections since taking effect in January 2014.
Blocked by the Ohio General Assembly, Kasich went to the obscure Ohio Controlling Board for permission to spend $2.56 billion in Obamacare money for the expansion’s first 18 months; in 14 months, that money had been spent.
RELATED: No money, no problem for Ohio Obamacare expansion
By June, Kasich’s Obamacare expansion had cost taxpayers more than $4 billion. By September, the cumulative cost of Obamacare expansion benefits in Ohio was $5.2 billion.
http://watchdog.org/242843/ohio-obamacare-5billion/