Category: Media

Legislators to study privatization of Commerce Department (Journal Record)

By Dale Denwalt OKLAHOMA CITY – Business recruitment might be more efficient if the state privatizes all or part of the Department of Commerce, a lawmaker said. State Rep. Leslie Osborn has looked at the model adopted by Arizona, which… Read more [More...]

Health-care forum panelists weigh in on benefits, political unlikelihood of expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma (Tulsa World)

By Mike Averill Panelists at a health-care forum Wednesday discussed reasons the state should accept federal dollars to expand Medicaid, particularly through the Insure Oklahoma program, and the unlikelihood of that happening. Expansion would provide insurance to more than 100,000… Read more [More...]

New OK Policy report examines barriers to affordable housing for Oklahomans with felony convictions

A new report from Oklahoma Policy Institute, titled “Barriers to Affordable Housing for Oklahomans with Felony Convictions,” shows how Oklahoma’s major public housing assistance programs exclude people with felony records from getting help. The report also discusses alternative models used… Read more [More...]

State needs to embrace ACA, health care execs say (Journal Record)

By Kirby Lee Davis TULSA – The U.S. Supreme Court’s King v. Burwell ruling leaves Oklahoma little choice but to embrace the Affordable Care Act, several health care executives told a Tulsa Regional Chamber audience Wednesday. But such views ignore… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma continues to rank high for state and local sales-tax rates (Tulsa World)

By RANDY KREHBIEL Oklahomans continue to pay some of the highest combined state and local sales taxes in the country, according to an annual report by the Tax Foundation. At 8.78 percent, Oklahoma’s average combined sales-tax rate was slightly higher… Read more [More...]

Up Ahead, Turnover of Insurers on Health Market (Oklahoma Watch)

By Warren Vieth Two private health insurance companies participating in the Affordable Care Act market in Oklahoma are expected to leave the program next year, while another big insurer wants in. The shuffle, which would occur on Jan. 1, illustrates… Read more [More...]

Supreme Court Obamacare ruling: Reactions from Oklahoma (The Frontier)

By Ziva Branstetter For Julie Alexander, $8.10 per month bought a lot of piece of mind. That’s what she had to pay this year for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act, after subsidies provided by the law.… Read more [More...]

Supreme Court keeps ACA subsidies alive (Edmond Sun)

By James Coburn The Affordable Care Act survived a second challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday morning. Justices ruled 6-3 in the King vs Burwell case to uphold the federal government’s right to provide health coverage subsidies to people… Read more [More...]

Q&A: What Obamacare Ruling Means for Oklahomans (Oklahoma Watch)

By Warren Vieth The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act means that more than 80,000 Oklahomans can continue to receive federal subsidies to help them pay for health insurance. It will be days, possibly weeks, before the… Read more [More...]

Statement: Supreme Court health care decision is a victory for Oklahomans

Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court decision upholding subsidies for insurance purchased on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace: The Supreme Court decision is a victory for tens of thousands of Oklahomans and… Read more [More...]