State Rep. Ramos Votes against Partisan Budget that Denies Medicaid Expansion

COLUMBUS- The Ohio House of Representatives passed the state budget this evening without the inclusion of Medicaid expansion, despite widespread support from groups across the political spectrum and the healthcare industry. Medicaid expansion would have provided healthcare coverage to more than 275,000 Ohioans and created thousands of jobs in the healthcare field. Following the vote, State Rep. Ramos issued the following statement:

 “The decision to forego the originally proposed Medicaid expansion is one based solely on partisan right-wing ideologies rather than what is best for Ohioans. Despite multiple Democratic proposals that were intended to compromise with Republicans on the expansion, Republicans were unwilling to work together to get actual Medicaid expansion into the budget. Instead, what we have in this budget is placeholder language that replaces actions with words and kicks the can down the road. While I am pleased to know that the conversation on this subject is not over, as a result of this decision many Ohio families will remain without access to care while we continue to discuss what to do next.

 “Unfortunately, it’s not just Medicaid where Ohioans lose in this budget. When the last budget passed, Ohioans took the sweeping cuts in stride understanding the difficult economic climate that the global financial recession had created, but that isn’t the case today. Today, our state revenues have grown and projections indicate we will likely deposit $1.9 billion into the Rainy Day Fund. Despite the growth in available funds, the decision was made to prioritize an income tax break that primarily benefits the wealthiest amongst us; meanwhile, ignoring the opportunity to put money back into our communities, into our schools, and into making the reinvestments necessary to prepare our state for the challenges ahead.

 “This budget, more than any other action up to this point, clearly demonstrates that the priorities of the current majority don’t line up with the needs of the Ohioans they were elected to represent.”