The Strickland administration has delayed plans to restore dental benefits for 700,000 low-income Ohioans.
The state also is holding off on boosting Medicaid payments to hospitals and doctors who care for the poor.
Physician and dentist associations are outraged over the reversal.
Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey says right now, the state can't afford the $65 million a year price tag for expanded benefits, due to higher than expected Medicaid caseloads.
The program provides state and federal dollars to insure the poor.
