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ICYMI: New Report Says 31 Ohio Hospitals, Clinics and Providers Are At Risk Of Closing

Half a million Ohioans could lose Medicaid coverage in next decade

COLUMBUS, OH – According to reporting, “recent cuts in funding from Ohio’s Medicaid budget will force more than a half a million Ohioans off the program in the next decade and threaten the closure of 31 hospitals and clinics in Ohio.” 

Reminder: Ohio Republicans are responsible for ripping health care away from Ohio families so they can pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and corporate special interests. 

  • In the Senate, Jon Husted has voted 9 times to increase health care premiums on Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans will see their health care costs rise over $800 a year.
  • While Ohioans “decry” Ohio Republicans’ votes in Congress to rip health care – and food assistance – from Ohio families, politicians like Mike Turner couldn’t be bothered to comment.

Read more HERE from Statehouse News Bureau on how Republicans’ health care cuts are not only devastating for the millions of Ohioans who rely on Medicaid, but also “will increase stress on emergency rooms, and rural patients will have to travel to get medical care.”

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Associated Press: Ramaswamy Running Mate Voted to Dissolve Medicaid Oversight Committee  

Columbus, Ohio – Desperate to hide the fact that he’s on video calling Medicaid a “mistake,” Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his latest scam yesterday where he claimed he’d fight Medicaid fraud while standing with the very politicians who have been running Ohio for nearly two decades. But in a damning new report from the Associated Press, it was revealed that Ramaswamy’s running mate, State Senate President Rob McColley, was a key architect of a state budget that dissolved the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.

The Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee was charged with watching over Medicaid and served as a single point of contact between the legislature and the Medicaid system. It was quietly dissolved through a last minute provision in the state budget that McColley had significant influence over. Even Republican State Representative Jennifer Gross, who was at Ramaswamy’s Tuesday press conference, said it could’ve helped fight fraud.

“Ohioans know Vivek Ramaswamy thinks Medicaid is a mistake. His pathetic attempt at claiming he will fight Medicaid fraud while his own running mate dismantled the Medicaid Oversight Committee is proof of yet another Ramaswamy scam,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans can’t trust a word Vivek Ramaswamy says because he only cares about himself.”

READ: Vance takes his fight against fraud to red Ohio, muddying waters for GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy

  • Vice President JD Vance’s decision to extend his fight against Medicaid fraud beyond Democratic states to his red home state of Ohio has set off a scramble among the state’s Republicans — including his close ally Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s nominee for governor.
  • A common theme at Ramaswamy’s news conference was the past failings of the state’s Department of Medicaid, overseen by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for the past seven years. The criticism was leveled not only by Ramaswamy, but by sitting Republican officeholders who have held sway over Ohio’s existing checks and balances of the program for years.
  • Asked to what extent the ruling GOP establishment that has controlled government for more than 15 years should be held accountable for failing to catch more Medicaid fraud, Ramaswamy said he wouldn’t point fingers. “I’m not playing that game, OK?”
  • Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, held key decision-making power over the state budget that last year eliminated Ohio’s Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, which was charged with watching over Medicaid, a joint federal-state healthcare program that covers more than a quarter of Ohio residents. The panel was investigating contracts with Gainwell, the nation’s largest processor of Medicaid claims, at the time.
  • State Rep. Jennifer Gross, a Republican who served on the committee, said Tuesday that the panel could have helped accomplish Vance’s and Ramaswamy’s fraud-fighting goals.
  • “I believe that if we had kept JMOC it always could have been something that we kept in place that could have morphed into a DOGE Ohio, an Ohio Medicaid DOGE,” she said.

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Jon Husted to Ohioans Struggling With Gas Prices: “What Do You Want Me To Do?”

Husted to trucker getting crushed by diesel prices: “What do you think about Iran being a nuclear power?”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In two new interviews, Jon Husted dismissed concerns from Ohioans getting crushed by skyrocketing gas prices because of the war in Iran he supports: 

  • When a truck driver asked about soaring diesel costs, Husted brushed him off and responded by asking if he was comfortable with Iran being a nuclear power. 

WATCH HERE:

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted could not be more out of touch with Ohioans who are getting crushed by soaring gas and diesel prices because of the endless war he supports. Instead of actually working to lower costs, Husted is backing more money for war overseas while insulting his constituents and lecturing Ohioans to work harder.”

The Husted-backed war in Iran is crushing Ohio families and farmers:

  • Jon Husted has voted eight times to continue the war in Iran while costs continue to skyrocket.
  • When asked about the pain that Ohio families are feeling at the pump, Jon Husted’s campaign “declined to comment.”

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Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted For Taking More Than $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator

REPORTING: Husted Took $116,892 From Les Wexner, Including A Max Donation Just A Few Weeks Before Blocking Epstein Files Release

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Youngstown called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

The rally in Youngstown comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Last week, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator. 

Ohioans have also protested Husted outside his Columbus and Toledo offices, and Husted was called out for being a “pedophile protector” at an event in Norwalk. Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

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NEW INTERVIEW: Jon Husted Runs Away When Asked Why He Took Over  $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator

Husted continues dodging basic questions that Ohioans deserve answered

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a new interview, Jon Husted was asked why he took more than $116,000 directly from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. Instead of answering, Husted ran away. 

WATCH HERE:

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“It’s no surprise that Jon Husted literally ran away when asked why he took more $116,000 from an Epstein co-conspirator, including a maximum legal donation just weeks before voting against releasing the Epstein files. Ohioans deserve answers about why Husted took the money, voted to protect his billionaire donor, and continues to run away from accountability.”

As a reminder, Jon Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator as any other sitting Senator. Wexner’s name appears in the released Epstein files more than 4,000 times.

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