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Weekly Wonk: Fines & fees hurt rural Oklahomans | Are Medicaid patients overusing the ER? | HB 1775 would whitewash history

Rural Oklahomans frequently carry larger burden for court fines, fees; Are Medicaid patients overusing the ER?; Follow through on SQ 781 by funding treatment and rehabilitation services; HB 1775 would whitewash our history [More...]

Rural Oklahomans frequently carry larger burden for court fines, fees

Our analysis suggests that rural Oklahomans are asked to pay just as much, and often more, than their urban counterparts. More worrisome still, urban areas like Tulsa and Oklahoma counties have the most difficulty in collecting fines and fees, meaning rural Oklahomans are effectively contributing more of their money to fund the court system as compared to their urban counterparts. [More...]

Are Medicaid patients overusing the ER?

Legislators concerned about rising health care costs should worry less about the health care practices of individual SoonerCare members and more about how we can most effectively provide health care for all Oklahomans through the SoonerCare program. [More...]

New law seeks to improve health education in schools (Capitol Update)

Despite all the hoopla this session over the many politically charged bills dealing with wedge issues, there has been some truly positive legislation passed by thoughtful legislators. One of those signed by Gov. Stitt last week is Senate Bill 89,… Read more [More...]

Weekly Wonk: What the American Rescue Plan means for Oklahoma | Budget transparency | Managed Care: The Facts

What the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Means for Oklahoma (webinar); Policy Matters: Oklahomans deserve budget transparency; 2020 Census Evaluation Report: Understanding How Oklahomans Are Doing; New law provides academic, behavioral supports for students in need (Capitol Update); Privatized Managed Care: The Facts. [More...]

Privatized Managed Care: The Facts 

Privatized managed care is not supported by peer-reviewed evidence: it hasn’t been definitively linked to budget savings or improved health outcomes. In fact, it will likely cost the state money and harm many Oklahoma communities. Lawmakers have the option and the responsibility to protect Oklahomans’ health care and stop this reckless change.  [More...]

State budget actions tell us how well our democracy is working

Oklahoma is one of few states where there is currently no introduced budget and limited discussion of budget priorities. Oklahoma is likely to once again wait until late in the legislative session to introduce a budget and then to bypass regular legislative rules to pass a budget in just a week or two with little to no public debate. [More...]

New law provides academic, behavioral supports for students in need (Capitol Update)

Third-year Representative Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, has been on a mission to provide for the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to address the core academic and non-academic needs of all students in Oklahoma public schools. During the 2020 interim… Read more [More...]

Weekly Wonk: Getting Medicaid expansion done correctly | Paid family leave is good for business | SB 511 improves harm reduction

Oklahomans demanded Medicaid expansion. We must do it quickly and get it right: Paid family and medical leave is good for families and businesses; SB 511 creates a legal path for harm reduction in Oklahoma (Guest Post); Policy Matters: SB 2 traumatizes Oklahomans, threatens economic progress; State Supreme Court nominations: Unnecessary to ‘fix’ what’s not broken (Capitol Update) [More...]

Housing & Infrastructure Senior Policy Analyst and Immigration Policy Analyst (Closed)

OK Policy is currently hiring for two positions on our policy team. The deadline to apply for both positions is May 16, 2021 at 5:00 pm (CST).  [More...]

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