Carly Putnam joined OK Policy in 2013. As Policy Director, she supervises policy research and strategy. She previously worked as an OK Policy intern, and she was OK Policy's health care policy analyst through July 2020. She graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2013. As a student, she was a participant in the National Education for Women (N.E.W.) Leadership Institute and interned with Planned Parenthood. Carly is a graduate of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits Nonprofit Management Certification; the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council’s Partners in Policymaking; The Mine, a social entrepreneurship fellowship in Tulsa; and Leadership Tulsa Class 62. She currently serves on the boards of Restore Hope Ministries and The Arc of Oklahoma. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and doing battle with her hundred year-old house.
By: Carly Putnam
June 6, 2019 // Updated: June 19, 2019
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about this year's legislative session from a health care perspective is that, refreshingly, this was the first in recent years that didn't include a full-scale attack on access to SoonerCare. [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
May 14, 2019 // Updated: May 15, 2019
Although time is running out, legislators could still advance a bill this session – or they may punt to a summer working group, putting the issue on a collision course with a likely ballot initiative. Regardless, this is a complex issue that inevitably raises a lot of question. Some of the most popular ones, and their answers, are below [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
March 20, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s been a few years since coverage expansion has been seriously entertained by state leadership, and both the state and federal landscape has shifted significantly in the meantime. Here’s a refresher of who should be covered. [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
February 28, 2019 // Updated: September 22, 2023
Before 2018, federal regulators had not allowed any state make Medicaid coverage contingent on meeting a work requirement. Most people on Medicaid who can work already do work, and those who don't work have good reasons for not working. However, reversing decades of precedent, the Trump administration is encouraging states to submit proposals to cut coverage for members who don't meet a work reporting requirement. [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
February 14, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In previous years, health care legislation has often come with a sense of existential crisis, as budget cuts and efforts to take away coverage have loomed large. But this year, with a new administration and a healthier budget, lawmakers have a chance to reverse course and offer more readily accessible quality health care in Oklahoma. [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
February 11, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019
For many low-income Oklahomans, having a place to call home isn’t something you can take for granted. Many families struggle with high rent, frequent evictions, unstable family environments, and more. Now, the state Medicaid agency, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), has proposed a new policy to terminate coverage for families who move and don’t update their address quickly enough in agency records. [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
November 29, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
All children should be able to see a doctor or fill a prescription when they need to. After all, access to quality health care in childhood makes it more likely that a person will succeed and thrive throughout their life.… Read more [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
November 12, 2018 // Updated: November 19, 2018
The federal government is making fundamental changes to our legal immigration system, putting thousands of Oklahomans at risk – including up to 123,000 children. On October 10th, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a change to the rules that we use… Read more [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
November 6, 2018 // Updated: March 3, 2020
Millions of Americans gained access to health coverage in 2014 when big parts of the Affordable Care Act kicked in – but the health law’s effects were always muted in Oklahoma. When Oklahoma policymakers declined to accept federal funds to… Read more [More...]
By: Carly Putnam
July 6, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Thousands of Oklahoma families are able to see a doctor or fill a prescription because of the state’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare. But instead of working to strengthen this proven, cost-effective program, Oklahoma is asking the federal government for permission to… Read more [More...]
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Perhaps the best thing that can be said about this year's legislative session from a health care perspective is that, refreshingly, this was the first in recent years that didn't include a full-scale attack on access to SoonerCare. [More...]
Although time is running out, legislators could still advance a bill this session – or they may punt to a summer working group, putting the issue on a collision course with a likely ballot initiative. Regardless, this is a complex issue that inevitably raises a lot of question. Some of the most popular ones, and their answers, are below [More...]
It’s been a few years since coverage expansion has been seriously entertained by state leadership, and both the state and federal landscape has shifted significantly in the meantime. Here’s a refresher of who should be covered. [More...]
Before 2018, federal regulators had not allowed any state make Medicaid coverage contingent on meeting a work requirement. Most people on Medicaid who can work already do work, and those who don't work have good reasons for not working. However, reversing decades of precedent, the Trump administration is encouraging states to submit proposals to cut coverage for members who don't meet a work reporting requirement. [More...]
In previous years, health care legislation has often come with a sense of existential crisis, as budget cuts and efforts to take away coverage have loomed large. But this year, with a new administration and a healthier budget, lawmakers have a chance to reverse course and offer more readily accessible quality health care in Oklahoma. [More...]
For many low-income Oklahomans, having a place to call home isn’t something you can take for granted. Many families struggle with high rent, frequent evictions, unstable family environments, and more. Now, the state Medicaid agency, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), has proposed a new policy to terminate coverage for families who move and don’t update their address quickly enough in agency records. [More...]
All children should be able to see a doctor or fill a prescription when they need to. After all, access to quality health care in childhood makes it more likely that a person will succeed and thrive throughout their life.… Read more [More...]
The federal government is making fundamental changes to our legal immigration system, putting thousands of Oklahomans at risk – including up to 123,000 children. On October 10th, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a change to the rules that we use… Read more [More...]
Millions of Americans gained access to health coverage in 2014 when big parts of the Affordable Care Act kicked in – but the health law’s effects were always muted in Oklahoma. When Oklahoma policymakers declined to accept federal funds to… Read more [More...]
Thousands of Oklahoma families are able to see a doctor or fill a prescription because of the state’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare. But instead of working to strengthen this proven, cost-effective program, Oklahoma is asking the federal government for permission to… Read more [More...]
