Charles McClinon was in a tough spot in 2013 when he lost his health coverage. The 52-year-old Cincinnati native, who has epilepsy, had returned to school in Chicago when the medication he took for his seizures started affecting his short-term memory.

He applied through his student health insurance for an operation that would have helped him control the seizures, but the company denied him because of his pre-existing condition. And then it dropped his policy.

Left without health insurance for the first time in his life, McClinon was still having seizures and running out of options — he was unable to afford private insurance and couldn’t get a job with benefits.

“I started failing school, too,” McClinon says. “I’ve always been able to do well in school. I’ve never ever had a problem with finding a job.”

Advocates for Ohio’s Medicaid expansion — which went into effect in 2014 — say the federal program is a relief for people like McClinon to get the care they need. But opponents of expanding the program in the state, including many Republican lawmakers, see it as a potential drag on the state’s budget in coming years, as the state will need to start footing some of the bill by the end of this year. Opponents now worry about the share Ohio will have to cover beginning in the next fiscal year. 

McClinon didn’t get on Medicaid immediately. He tried free clinics in Chicago while applying for Medicaid, which was eventually denied. He dropped out of school and returned to Cincinnati where he struggled with daily activities and employment. Normally a high-functioning epileptic, McClinon says his seizures started to affect him more frequently, mostly his memory.

McClinon has the type of seizures that involves spacing out for long periods, he says, almost like he was daydreaming, but he would come back with no memory of the incident. His medication to control his seizures was making it harder and harder for his short-term memory to function correctly.

“It was almost like I was a little kid,” McClinon says.

McClinon tried again to enroll in Medicaid but had difficulty doing the paperwork and waiting long periods for a response. Meanwhile, he relied on free clinics and continued to have several seizures a month. He eventually ended up homeless for nine months.

In January of 2014, when Ohio’s Medicaid expansion went into effect, McClinon, with help from a friend, enrolled the first day he could. By February, he was covered, and he finally had his operation in July 2014.