Kasich, Portman decline to back Senate GOP health care bill to replace Obamacare

COLUMBUS - Ohio's top-ranking Republicans declined Thursday to endorse Senate Republicans' bill to replace Obamacare, saying they had "concerns" about a plan to phase out Medicaid expansion.

Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Rob Portman both support the expansion of Medicaid to low-income, childless adults in Ohio. Nearly a third of Ohioans getting coverage under the health care program have a substance abuse or dependence problem, the state says. Since Ohio continues to fight one of the nation's worst heroin epidemics, it's important for these people to have coverage for addiction treatment, Kasich and Portman believe.

The Senate bill's passage came into question hours after leaders unveiled it Thursday, as four conservative members of the chamber – enough to doom it to failure – said they were not ready to vote against the bill as written.

Portman refrained from condemning the bill outright.

"I continue to have real concerns about the Medicaid policies in this bill, especially those that impact drug treatment at a time when Ohio is facing an opioid epidemic," Portman said in a statement. He plans to review an upcoming cost analysis of the bill and will decide whether to vote on it based on the bill's final language, he said.

Read more: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/22/kasich-portman-oppose-medicaid-health-care-bill/421225001/