CareSource to add 500 Dayton jobs, credits health reform

Don’t tell CareSource that this year’s controversial health reform package is going to destroy America.

What’s likely to hurt Democrats at the polls next month may help bring 500 jobs to Dayton as nonprofit managed care provider CareSource looks to grow, thanks to droves of new patients coming its way.

CareSource, which says it’s the largest Medicaid provider in Ohio and the fourth-largest in the nation, is on the cusp of “transformational” change, CEO Pamela Morris told the Dayton Daily News.

The company stands to benefit from two provisions of the overhaul. First, it’ll have more Medicaid patients to serve because the overhaul package could swell the program’s rolls by up to 23 million. In addition, the company expects to offer insurance plans through health exchanges — marketplaces in which people who don’t get insurance through their employers can buy coverage — that’ll be set up as a result of the legislation.

So keep your chin up, health reform advocates. Your persistence will help 500 people in Dayton get jobs even if it also helps a certain Ohio politican who famously yelled “Hell no!” to reform to become Speaker of the House.