Recent Articles

New report shows Oklahoma led nation in improving health insurance coverage, but more than 75,000 Oklahoma children remain uninsured

The rate of Oklahoma children without health care insurance decreased significantly – from 8.6 percent to 7.4 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to a new report from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families. This marked the nation’s largest… Read more [More...]

Enacting recommended expansion of pregnancy, postpartum care will represent a step forward for Oklahoma families

Oklahoma consistently ranks poorly on women’s and children’s health. While Oklahoma’s decision to expand Medicaid has significantly lowered the state’s uninsured rate, Oklahoma women have historically seen high rates of uninsurance. At 23.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, the… Read more [More...]

Oklahomans need common-sense tax reform

Fairness is a fundamental tenet of most Oklahomans’ beliefs: People should get equal pay for equal work and kids should have equal opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, the state’s current tax system does not reflect this priority. Rather, our tax system… Read more [More...]

Medicaid expansion’s rippling impact on Oklahoma

As of April 25, 2022, more than 280,000 Oklahomans across the state have been able to lead healthier lives because of Medicaid expansion. When voting to approve expanding Medicaid to include low-income, working-age adults, Oklahoma voters knew the benefits: expansion… Read more [More...]

Medicaid Expansion in Oklahoma: Year One

Medicaid Expansion in Oklahoma: Year One: When Oklahoma voters passed Medicaid expansion in June 2020, they understood the benefits that expansion would bring to the state. They knew that providing health coverage to low-income, working-age adults would improve health outcomes,… Read more [More...]

FY 2023 Budget Highlights

The FY 2023 budget makes some good and long-awaited investments in Oklahomans. It also misses several critical opportunities to make generational change, such as investing in common education and funding State Question 781.  [More...]

Budget includes a few long-awaited investments, but misses crucial opportunities

This year, Oklahoma lawmakers appropriated $10.68 billion to the state budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which begins on July 1, 2022. The FY 23 state budget includes some long-awaited investments in areas like access to mental health care and reducing the 13-year wait for services for individuals with developmental disabilities. [More...]

Lawmakers voted down a corporate income tax cut this spring. Leadership should leave it out of the budget.

NOTE: Policy Fellow Josie Phillips contributed to this analysis Cutting the corporate income tax — which was proposed in the failed House Bill 4358 — overwhelmingly benefits wealthy and out-of-state corporations over everyday Oklahomans and locally owned businesses. The Senate… Read more [More...]

A county-by-county look at how increasing Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Relief Credit benefits families, seniors

Oklahoma lawmakers this session are considering a measure (House Bill 3353) that would strengthen the value of Oklahoma’s Sales Tax Relief Credit — commonly known as the “grocery tax credit” — to provide meaningful, targeted relief to the Oklahomans who most need it.  [More...]

A thoughtful approach to the end of the public health emergency will mitigate coverage lapses

As the end of the public health emergency approaches (which could be as soon as mid-July 2022), the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) has taken several steps to help eligible enrollees maintain coverage when the public health emergency ends. [More...]