Ohio Lt. Gov. Has Two Sons Who Are Opioid Addicts – And She Wants to Severely Cut Medicaid Treatment for Addiction

A Republican, How Did You Know?

The Dayton News has a moving story about the horror of drug addiction.  The family of Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor has been fighting this horrific condition for years.

Both sons – Joe, 26, and Michael, 23, — are now doing well, according to Taylor, though one remains in drug treatment. But every step on the road into addiction, treatment and recovery was marked with worry, anxiety and terror, she said.

There were so many traumatic moments, Taylor can’t even isolate one single event that stands out.

But what is newsworthy is the aspiring candidate for Governor’s take on Medicaid.  First of all addiction is a huge problem in Ohio.

Ohio ranks number one in the nation for unintentional drug overdoses. Despite investing almost $1 billion a year to fight drug abuse and addiction, accidental overdoses claimed 3,050 lives in Ohio in 2015, up 20.5 percent over 2014. Preliminary data from the Ohio Department of Health shows 3,835 fatalities in 2016 — a 25.7 percent hike over 2015.

And Ms. Taylor has no plan to help things other than meaningless platitudes and generalities.

Despite her personal story and six-year service in the Kasich administration, Taylor does not yet have a detailed plan on how she would fight the opioid epidemic if she is elected governor.

“We need a comprehensive solution and it’s going to involve the feds. It’s going to involve everybody,” she said. “We need law enforcement, we need community activists, we need churches and faith-based groups. A comprehensive solution is going to be just that.”

But she does have a firm opinion on Medicaid, and Medicaid plays a key role in treatment.

A centerpiece to Kasich’s approach, however, is opposed by Taylor. Kasich initiated an expansion of Medicaid, made possible by Obamacare, and has been accepting federal funds to serve an additional 715,000 low-income Ohioans, including roughly 215,000 with drug abuse and addiction issues.

Ms. Taylor undoubtedly has the resources to pay for treatment for his sons, maybe they are even covered by the government provided group health care plan she probably gets.  But as far as anyone else is concerned, those who cannot pay, her attitude is pretty Republican mainstream.  Screw You.