DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland hopes to pare down the 1.3 million uninsured Ohioans to 900,000 by taking modest steps in the state's Medicaid program.

Strickland told a group of health care experts that he will seek federal approval to use Medicaid money to subsidize insurance premiums for 300,000 working poor and will try to enroll another 100,000 eligible kids into Medicaid's children's health insurance program.

"The ultimate solution for the estimated 46 million uninsured Americans will have to be a federal solution," Strickland said after the speech at Ohio State University.

He doubted President Bush's proposal to give tax incentives for people to buy health insurance policies would benefit the working poor who are struggling to cover their basic needs. "We need a more direct approach in dealing with people who have those kinds of economic circumstances to deal with," the governor said.

Strickland said he is not opposed to mandating health care coverage for some businesses, such as Wal-Mart.

"There is no free health care in Ohio or in America. Somebody is paying for every bit of health care that is delivered," he said. Some employers, such as Wal-Mart, are not shouldering their fair share of responsibility, he said.

A state report released last year showed Ohio pays about $90 million a year to cover Medicaid costs of 40 employers, and roughly 7 percent of Wal-Mart's Ohio employees were receiving Medicaid in 2005.

In other action, Strickland retained the state inspector general who is playing a lead role in investigating the state's rare-coin investment scandal.

Ohio Inspector General Thomas Charles was first appointed by former governor and current U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican, and continued to serve under GOP Gov. Bob Taft, who pleaded no contest to ethics violations in conjunction with the "Coingate" investigation Charles has led.

"Thomas understands that integrity and accountability play critical roles in our state government," Strickland said in a statement accompanying news of the reappointment. "He has played an absolutely essential role in beginning the process of restoring Ohioans trust and faith in their government."

Strickland also appointed state Sen. Kimberly Zurz as director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, his 15th cabinet selection. He has eight more cabinet posts yet to fill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.