Ohio Tea Party activists say they will back Republican candidates who challenge any GOP lawmakers voting for the expansion of Medicaid.Maurice Thompson of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law says his group will give legal support to anyone in the upcoming primary who wants to take on those lawmakers. But he says the group will not necessarily back a challenger to Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is pushing for the expansion.
Thompson says taxpayers will lose out if lawmakers pass the Medicaid expansion. Kasich says expanding Medicaid is a way to bring the dollars Ohioans pay to the federal government back to the state to help with the poorest citizens. Kasich says without the expansion, rural and urban hospitals could end up closing their doors as the federal reimbursement plan changes.