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Long-time DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud
DeWine friend lobbied for corporation accused of fraud. Company's massive business with Ohio was restarted despite the allegations.
Pharmacy middlemen sue to stop rebate transparency
An industry group representing powerful drug middlemen has gone to court to stop a federal rule intended to bring transparency to rebates middlemen get from manufacturers. The middlemen are arguing that the rule, initiated by the Trump administration, will increase drug costs. But the group’s critics say that secretive rebates are a primary driver of […]
Ohio economists say state’s pandemic spending cuts won’t help the economy
In May 2020, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced $775 million in state spending cuts in the face of what he expected to be lower tax revenues due to economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The cuts included $300 million whacked from K-12 education and $210 million from Medicaid, the health program for the poor. […]
Six months after claiming massive fraud, Ohio awards contract worth billions to health giant
Ohio is again in business with a company that only recently it was accusing of massive fraud. The state’s leaders seem reluctant to explain why. Two months ago, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care provider in the United States, would pay Ohio $88.3 million to settle a lawsuit claiming […]
After scandal broke, FirstEnergy lobbyist pushed DeWine on “covid response”
On Sept. 23, 2020, McKenzie K. Davis, a lobbyist with the Success Group, registered to lobby the administration of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on “covid response.” The timing is curious because only six weeks earlier, federal authorities announced they’d arrested then-Speaker Larry Householder and four associates in what they said was “likely the largest bribery […]
Public health chief warns of new coronavirus variant but won’t endorse mask mandate
The United States has more than enough coronavirus vaccine and more than enough masks, yet the refusal to mask up and get vaccinated is driving a fourth wave of infection that is again crowding intensive-care units, including those for children. But Ohio Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff on Thursday said that instead of re-imposing mask mandates, […]
Ohio governor won’t say he regrets picking regulator now at the center of historic utility scandal
A huge Ohio utility paid Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s pick to be the state’s top utility regulator millions and the regulator, Sam Randazzo, proceeded to do favors for the utility that were worth at least hundreds of millions, the utility and federal prosecutors have said. But more than a year into one of the biggest […]
Environmental groups tried to warn DeWine not to appoint regulator accused embroiled in scandal
Environmental groups tried to warn DeWine not to appoint regulator accused embroiled in scandal. Hostility to renewables was part of the reason.
Medicaid provider’s profits surge just after it announces massive settlement
The business of administering the government health program for the poor continues to be very, very good for Centene — even after it announced it would pay states more than $1 billion to settle claims that the St. Louis-based company had defrauded them. In addition, its leader says he confident that his company will resume […]
On anniversary of mass shootings, Republican AGs move to kill bump-stock bans
Tuesday and Wednesday were days to mourn gun violence — at least for some — in Ohio and Texas. Consider: At 10:45 a.m. local time on Aug. 3, 2019, a 21-year-old Dallas-area man allegedly walked into an El Paso Walmart and used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 23 and wound 23 others. It was the […]
D.C. Dems squabble over expired eviction moratorium. Ohio official says there never really was one
The liberal and moderate wings of the Democratic Party are at odds over President Joe Biden’s decision to allow an eviction moratorium to expire last weekend. The situation reportedly has become so tense, the factions looked headed for a split. By late Tuesday, Biden had announced an order for a continued moratorium in areas hardest […]
No, undocumented immigrants don’t commit more crime. Research shows they commit a lot less
It’s an article of faith in some corners of politics and the media: All those undocumented immigrants crossing the southern border are making crime much worse in the United States. But new research gives the lie to that assertion. And, some border officials say, continuing to promote it will only lead to another racist massacre […]