say they won’t hold any votes on the Medicaid expansion until October or later
, even though state officials say the expansion must be approved by October to have it in place by 2014. Implementing the expansion at the start of 2014 would coincide with the implementation of other major programs in Obamacare. Gov. John Kasich supports the expansion, but he’s had trouble convincing his fellow Republicans to join him. The expansion would be mostly funded by the federal government, which would pay for the entire policy for the first three years then phase down to indefinitely paying for 90 percent of the cost. Earlier this year, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released an analysis that found the Medicaid expansion would insure nearly half a million Ohioans and save the state about $1.8 billion in the next decade. Michigan, which is also dominated by Republicans, on Tuesdayapproved its own Medicaid expansion
.An internal audit found the city of Cincinnati has
lost hundreds of thousands of dollars
that could have gone toward improving the city-owned Lunken Airport through poor management and technology problems. In response, Councilman Chris Seelbach wrote on Twitter, “Lunken oversights completely unacceptable. Meeting w/ City & Lunken Mngr to work on detailed correction plan later this week.” The city is planning on making changes that should avoid losing revenue in the future.plan to hold a fundraiser
today for mayoral candidate Roxanne Qualls and City Council candidate Wendell Young. The fundraiser shows the extra steps now being taken by streetcar supporters, who have been proudly flaunting their support every month through “streetcar socials,” the latest of whichMayor Mark Mallory attended
. Ever since its inception, the streetcar has been mired in controversy and misrepresentations, which CityBeat covered in further detailhere
.renewing a legislative push
for attaching drug tests to welfare benefits. The measure is meant to lower costs and ensure welfare money isn’t going to drug dealers. As CityBeatpreviously covered
, the testing requirement can actually increase the cost of welfare programs: In Florida, the state government’s program had a net loss of $45,780 after it reimbursed all falsely accused welfare recipients of their drug tests. Only 108 people out of the 4,086 accused, or 2.9 percent, tested positive, and most tested positive for marijuana, according to The Miami Herald .Heavy construction and improvements that will modernize and widen Interstate 75 are
expected to continue for the next decade
. Much of the work is being funded by Kasich’s Ohio Turnpike plan, which sells bonds that will be repaid with excess Turnpike polls.responded to a lawsuit
filed on Monday against his restaurant chain. Ruby says his servers “are highly compensated — averaging $65,000 a year, with shifts that average seven hours a day.” The lawsuit alleges that management at Ruby’s restaurants took tips from three employees, which supposedly left them earning less than minimum wage.United Way of Greater Cincinnati
plans to raise $62.8 million
with its campaign this year. The organization supports Cincinnati’s human services, which CityBeat covered in further detailhere
.improve surgeries
in the future.
