Republican Lawmakers Say Medicaid Request May Violate State Law

The governor’s decision to bring Medicaid expansion to a state panel instead of pushing a bill in the legislature is causing a public riff in the governor’s own party. Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder and more than 30 other Republicans have signed a letter to Gov. John Kasich, saying his strategy is "contrary to the Ohio Constitution and current statutory law. " "My hope would be that everybody would stay in their baskets and be very polite," Batchelder said Wednesday. Batchelder has not said if he’ll change the Controlling Board’s lineup ahead of its Monday meeting. Kasich on Monday is expected to ask the spending oversight board to use $2.5 billion in federal funding to raise the income ceiling for Medicare, which would let an estimated 275,000 additional low-income Ohioans into the program. The controlling board was established in 1917 and regularly handles large spending requests, but one political watcher couldn't remember any that were bigger.Click the play button above to hear more about the history of the board from political writer and Ohio University professor Thomas Suddes.