While discussing the state of public health in Oklahoma with a House health appropriations subcommittee, Health Commissioner Terry Cline warned that “Oklahoma is about to become the public health joke of the country.” With Oklahoma standing at 49th in overall health outcomes, ranking above only Mississippi, additional cuts to the Oklahoma  State Department of Health (OSDH) could drop the state’s public health ranking to the very bottom.

The committee has asked all agencies to report how they would be affected by additional cuts of 10, 15 or 20 percent in FY ’11. For OSDH, a 10 percent cut would equate to a $6.8 million funding drop. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month, we surveyed some of the budget cuts that state agencies were being forced to implement as result of the state’s revenue shortfalls. Since then, the grim news continues to spread deeper into core programs, affecting major services like education, social services, and infrastructure. Our intern, Matt Garder, provides this round-up of coverage from the state’s newspapers of some of the actions that state agencies, cities, and school boards have announced in recent weeks to address budget shortfall, as well as looming cuts on the horizon: Read the rest of this entry »

With the health care reform bill now signed into law, the next event in the OU-OKDHS Practice & Policy Spring Lecture Series couldn’t be more timely. On April 8th, Dr. David Cutler, one of the foremost health care economists in the nation, will be delivering a free public lecture titled “What Did We Do In Health Reform?”. The lecture will be from 12 – 1pm and will take place at the College of Public Health of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The lecture can will be broadcast in Tulsa atthe OU Schusterman Center,  Rm. 3108.

Professor Cutler is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Department of Economics and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and was an adviser to Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign.

Dr. Cutler will examine insurance coverage and population health, medical care delivery and costs, and public sector financing.   No registration is required.  Click here for more information on this event.

Update: Video of Dr. Cutler’s presentation is available here (wmv)

As revenues have come in significantly below estimates this year, funding to state agencies was cut 5 percent a month from August to November and 10 percent each month since (see our updated fact sheet). OK Policy’s intern Matt Gardner has been tracking media reports of the ways that cuts in state funding over the course of the downturn. He provides this report of some of what’s transpired in recent months.

Budget cuts in recent months appear to have affected Oklahomans from all walks of life. Many agencies have been forced to cut jobs, offer bailouts, or implement furlough days, but cuts have required agencies to go further and eliminate services altogether.

Some examples:

• The Bill Willis Community Mental Health Center faces more cuts, despite having eliminated its 20-bed men’s substance abuse program. That was to save $1.2 million. Now, the center has been asked to trim $300,000 more. According to Executive Director Margaret Bradford, “without this type of treatment you’re going to see more and more people end up in the criminal justice system,” costing the state more money than the treatment. Read the rest of this entry »