Upon further review...

Prior to settling in to watch Super Bowl 47, your only locally owned and operated, independent newspaper of record has a few housekeeping matters to address.

Let's get right to it, as kickoff is only a few moments away.

• To begin with, there was a bit of misinformation shared at the Jan. 23 meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

At that meeting, Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer updated the local board on the previous week's County Commissioners Association of Ohio meeting, which Shaffer attended.

Shaffer informed his fellow commissioners and the public that he had voted against the CCAO's endorsement of the expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the federal Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act.

Frankly, I tend to agree with Shaffer's vote on this.

The Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act allows states to expand Medicaid and provides matching funds to do so. Gov. John Kasich is expected to announce his plan this month.

The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and then signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold the law.

"I voted 'no,'" Shaffer said at the Jan. 23 meeting. "But either way, Medicaid expansion will cost the state."

Shaffer said the new federal poverty guidelines could add as many as 400,000 Ohioans to the Medicaid rolls. "A four-person family can make $92,200 a year and qualify for Medicaid," Shaffer said. "That would encompass 99 percent of Highland County families."

However, that $92,200 income figure cited by Shaffer just didn't seem plausible to me. Frankly, it seemed incredibly high. (For comparison, $92,200 is well more than twice the average household income in Highland County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is roughly three times the current private-sector family income levels in the county.)

Upon further research and quoting from the Kaiser Family Foundation analysis (at http://healthreform.kff.org/coverage-expansion-map.aspx), I found the following:

• The Affordable Care Act includes two primary mechanisms for helping people afford health coverage. Starting in 2014, people with family incomes up to 138 percent of the poverty level ($31,809 for a family of four and $15,415 for a single person in 2012) will generally be eligible for the Medicaid program.

• People buying coverage on their own in new state-based health insurance exchanges will be eligible for federal tax credits to subsidize the cost of insurance. Tax credits will be calculated on a sliding scale basis for people with family income up to four times the poverty level ($92,200 for a family of four and $44,680 for a single person in 2012).

Thus, it would appear that either the County Commissioners Association of Ohio or Shaffer confused the income guidelines in the ACA (or, as the president likes to call it, ObamaCare) with the federal tax credit guidelines.

We can understand the confusion over the Medicaid expansion and other aspects of ObamaCare. After all, former House Speaker Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi warned us that we'd have to pass the bill before we'd find out what's in it.

Gov. Kasich and his fellow Republican majorities in the Ohio House and Senate seem to be leaning toward approving the Medicaid expansion in Ohio's next two-year budget proposal.

The expansion could result in one of every four Ohioans being on Medicaid, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.

That's a lot of handouts for a lot of people, many of whom are already enjoying a lot of handouts. Some of the old-fashioned (and independent-minded) readers among us might question what such an expansion of government freebies might do to one's sense of personal shame or self-esteem.

Don't worry about it.

We are a nation without shame. We cannot be embarrassed. There is no disgracing the family name. When it comes to accepting government handouts – from corporate welfare on down the social and economic ladder – we are one and the same: If it's free, it's for me.

What's also interesting is that those who will benefit from new Medicaid eligibility guidelines and health insurance tax credit will vary substantially throughout the country.

(So much so that it almost sounds similar to Ohio's decades-long school funding debate.)

The Kaiser Family Foundation analysis reports: "On average, an estimated 17 percent of the non-elderly population nationwide would benefit from the Medicaid expansion and tax credits. In parts of Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and California, 36-40 percent of population could benefit. In areas of Massachusetts, Hawaii, New York, and Connecticut – states that generally have high levels of employer-provided health insurance or have already implemented reforms to make insurance more accessible and affordable – 2-4 percent of the non-elderly could benefit from the coverage expansions in the ACA."

The real comedy is in this carrot from the feds: For states that expand Medicaid programs, the federal government will cover the full cost for the first three years. Federal funds are set to scale back to cover 90 percent of the program's costs by 2020.

What a deal!

A federal government that is trillions of dollars in debt is making a three-year financial commitment to the states to accept the federal expansion of another unfunded program.

Kasich must convince his fellow Republicans if he wants to bring $14 billion in federal funds to the state and extend coverage to nearly 600,000 additional low-income Ohioans.

For those of us in the private sector, one can't help but wonder what would happen if we called on our local banker and said: "Hey, Tom, we're roughly $20 trillion in the red, but we need a three-year commitment to get us through the tough spots. How about a check for $14 billion?"

Here's a shout out to Republicans Rep. Cliff Rosenberger and Sen. Bob Peterson: What are your respective thoughts on this additional government largesse?

Please, let us know. Soon.

* * *

Lock and Load

Maybe we should listen to this Democrat.

Milwaukee (Wis.) County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

In a report by Matt Pearce last week, the Democratic sheriff issued this public safety announcement:

"I'm Sheriff David Clarke and I want to talk to you about something personal: Your safety. It's no longer a spectator sport. I need you in the game. But are you ready? With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back. But are you prepared? Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family."

Several years ago, facing his own departmental budget reductions, Highland County Sheriff Ron Ward issued a very similar warning. As I recall, a newspaper reporter asked me if she could quote Sheriff Ward announcing the hours for applying for concealed carry permits. I replied in the affirmative.

The story – and the sheriff's quotes – ran.

In a statement, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's office said: "Apparently, Sheriff Clarke is auditioning for the next 'Dirty Harry' movie."

As Mr. Pearce reported, "That remark drew this retort from Clarke: 'Several years ago, a tire-iron-wielding suspect beat Mayor Tom Barrett to within inches of his life. I would think that he would be a lot more sensitive to people being able to defend themselves in such instances. A firearm and a plan of defense would have come in handy for him that day.'"

Ya think?

(Mayor Barrett was calling 911 to report a fight when the suspect batted the phone out of his hand and began to beat him, according to the police report.)

Personally, I'll have to agree with the well-reasoned logic of Sheriffs Clarke and Ward. And I do hit what I aim (most of the time).

As to the nation's latest debate about gun control, Second District Congressman Brad Wenstrup had this response to Obama's gun control proposals:

"There's been too much talk about taking guns away from law-abiding citizens and not enough talk about the root cause of all violence. As to President Obama's ideas, if he genuinely believes that banning a certain class of weapons will save innocent lives, why did he wait four years to propose such a ban?

"It's because he's playing politics instead of finding real solutions."

Good point.

* * *

Safe routes are appreciated

"I'll give you a winter prediction: It's going to be cold. It's going to be grey. And it's going to last for the rest of your life." (Thank you, Bill Murray.)

Since the aforementioned quote came from a very good friend who works for the Ohio Department of Transportation, this is a good time to thank all of those "Snow Plow Men" (and women?) for keeping the area roadways safe.

As someone who drives around the county on a regular basis, I'm mostly impressed by the townships, the county and the state when it comes to clearing and treating the roads in winter.

On the level road surfaces, it's really no big deal. But on a cold wintry morning when I approach the steep hills – especially those with a downhill curve exceeding 60 degrees – I really appreciate it when ODOT or the county or township has been there.

ODOT always gets a well-deserved pat on the back from me for keeping Route 247 passable at Folsom Hill in Highland County and at Brush Creek (waterworks) Hill in Adams County just north of Seaman. Those are two of the more "interesting" hills to navigate on a snowy or icy morning.

This past weekend, I was on Route 28 heading east through East Monroe at another area where I've had past "experiences" on icy pavement. Not this time. The highway was well-treated in both directions.

Thanks to all those who work long hours to ensure that our state, county and township roads are safe. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Better mail than jail

Former Cincinnati Enquirer sports writer and current San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy writes an occasional "better mail than jail" column, in which he has some fun with readers' correspondence.

In that vein, I'd like to acknowledge some recent – and much-appreciated – correspondence which was received the old-fashioned way, from the good old USPS.

• From a Jan. 19 letter with an annual subscription payment: "I enjoy your paper. Have a cup of coffee on me." – Nellie Williamson (Chris' mom). Nellie's daughter, Chris Rakyta, and I graduated together from Whiteoak High School.

• From a Jan. 25 letter (also with an annual subscription payment of $10): "Thanks for your newspaper. We look forward to it every weekend. Your editorial pages are informative and interesting. – Bernard Dean, Lynchburg.

• From a Jan. 23 letter (also with an annual subscription payment of $10): "I enjoy your paper each and every week. Your paper is better than …. keep up the good work." – Nancy Durbin, New Vienna.

• From a Jan. 25 letter: "I want to thank you folks for the outstanding job you do. You're a great bunch. I appreciate you so much." – Al Conaway, South Salem.

We appreciate you, too, Al. And Nellie, and Bernard, and Nancy, and all those others – such as Joe and Mary Griffith, Brenda Cornett, George and Marjorie Siders, and Bob and Dorothy Hodson – who have recently expressed their appreciation for and enjoyment of The Highland County Press.

We will do our best to continue to be your independent, local newspaper, stressing accuracy and fairness, with absolutely no entangling alliances with any political party or public official.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.