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Health & Fitness

Why Are Our State Legislators Acting Like Washington D.C. Extremists?

The recent effort by extremist members of the State Legislature to slow or prevent the expansion of Medicaid in Ohio serves as another example of elected officials pandering to a narrow constituency instead of the whole of the districts they serve. Here in the 6th District (Lyndhurst, Solon, Chagrin, Broadview Hts, etc), State Representative Marlene Anielski is no different, as she marches to the beat of the Tea Party drum in her stubborn refusal to support the use of these federal health care dollars in Ohio.

Expanding Medicaid, especially as Ohio ranks near the bottom in job creation, should seem like a no-brainer. By using federal funds - already set aside for Ohio - our legislature has an opportunity to provide coverage to a wider range of Ohioans. In addition to providing critical health care service to the people who need it most, this investment into our state will also have the added benefit of pumping billions of federal dollars to our local economy while slowing the increase of health care costs for all. Supporting it should be a no-brainer—which is why it has bipartisan support. But, to hear Medicaid expansion opponents tell it, they're reining in government spending. Hardly.

The reality is that by refusing federal dollars, other states will stand to gain the funds we reject. That money, provided to the federal government by taxpayers in Ohio, will instead go to help residents of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and other states we compete with. And although the opponents of expansion may pretend otherwise, they know all too well that those dollars won't be returned to the Federal Treasury.

Although expanding Medicaid would actually seem to be the "fiscally conservative" choice in terms of short and long term cost savings, it's not hard to see why Anielski and others are afraid to stand with moderate members of their own party and get it done. As long as the threat of a Tea Party primary challenge looms large, these representatives will quietly try to coast along, smile for the cameras, vote as they're told, and pray they won't be forced to do anything that requires the least amount of courage or common sense. Ohioans deserve better. We deserve leaders, not this current band of submissive followers.

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