Today we released the 19th issue of our monthly Numbers You Need bulletin, which tracks monthly and quarterly data for key economic indicators. As in many recent months, the overall economic news was mixed: a slight increase in employment and rebound in state revenues, offset by continued high numbers of bankruptcy filings. But while we have seen  fluctuations in many indicators of the state’s economic well-being over the course of the economic downturn,  one constant has been an increasing number of Oklahomans turning to public programs for assistance with food and medical care. In March, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) rose for the 24th consecutive month (it has since risen again in April and May). Meanwhile, enrollment rose for the 15th straight month in March in SoonerCare (Medicaid), the federal-state health insurance program for low-income individuals in various categories.

This chart (which is based on DHS monthly statistical bulletins available here) shows monthly participation for both programs going back to January 2008: Read the rest of this entry »

In the early 1990′s, faced with health care costs that were rising at unmanageable rates and widespread dissatisfaction with the quality of the state’s Medicaid program, the Oklahoma Legislature created the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) as  a stand-alone agency whose primary mission would be to convert the state’s fee-for-service Medicaid program into a primarily managed care program. To implement managed care, the state submitted a Section 1115 demonstration waiver for the program, which would come to be known as SoonerCare. Earlier this year, Mathematica Research, a nationally-recognized evaluation company, delivered a comprehensive 1115 waiver evaluation on the SoonerCare program since its inception. You can access an Executive Summary of the findings, a PowerPoint, or the 175+-page full report. Read the rest of this entry »