In this issue…

Clay’s summary:    Could be: a) improving economy, b) glitch in enrollment system, c) evil Republicans working with Putin to hack Ohio’s democracy. You decide.

More than 700,000 Ohioans were removed from the state’s Medicaid program in just the first 10 months of 2018. Franklin County had the most disenrollments, with nearly 90,000 losing the health-care coverage from January through October, the most recent data available show.

But no one quite knows why such a huge shift took place in the state-federal program for low-income Ohioans.

Clay’s summary:    They’re baaack (read in Poltergeist voice).

The Trump administration is considering giving states the ability to receive Medicaid block grants, Politico reported on Friday, a move that has experts unsure of its legality and the political world bracing for its volatility.

Clay’s summary:    Dems see writing on wall re unravelling ACA, start to work on workarounds at state level.

Several Democratic governors – including one likely to run for President – are working on legislation to expand coverage to the poor in their states with legislation that would allow residents to “buy into” government subsidized Medicaid or other state coverage.

In all, “at least 10 states” are looking at Medicaid “buy ins,” Stateline reported last week. These proposals are akin to earlier proposals by some Democratic Senators mentioned as Presidential candidates to expand Medicare to Americans as young as 50 years old.

Such public options are seen by some as an alternative to more progressive single-payer “Medicare for All” proposals that would have the government control health insurance and require more taxpayer dollars. Most public option proposals emerging would continue the role of private insurers in helping administer the health benefit expansions.