Gov. John Kasich has signed the new two-year $2.6 billion capital budget at the site of a planned mental and behavioral health hospital in Columbus. The hospital is one of the investments included in that spending plan. But Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports, Kasich issued a warning of sorts, too.
Kasich said his decision to expand Medicaid has allowed many Ohioans to get addiction and mental health treatment. And he urged continuation of that program once he leaves office.
“Now at some point, I will be gone and it will be very easy to cut the programs for people who need help. Don’t let it happen folks.”
Kasich says if it’s cut, health care services that help Ohio’s poorest and sickest residents will be cut too. All of the Democrats running for Governor say they want to keep Medicaid expansion. But the Republican candidates say they want to redesign the program because it’s unsustainable.
