State Website Alerts Ohioans To Medicaid Expansion

The state has started notifying people on its new benefits website that more low-income Ohioans will be eligible for health coverage under an expansion of the Medicaid program. The notification tells people to check back about when they can apply. It also directs people to more information about the eligibility changes. Ohio recently got approval from Washington to extend Medicaid eligibility to thousands more people. On Monday, the quietly powerful state Controlling Board granted a request from Gov. John Kasich's administration to spend federal dollars on the expansion. Coverage begins Jan. 1. Opponents of Medicaid expansion have filed a lawsuit over approval of the funds. The state's Medicaid department says its benefits website will begin accepting Medicaid applications for newly eligible adults in the coming months.