Quotes of the Day

“We have Oklahomans who desperately need access to cancer treatments, heart medicine and other life-saving care, and we can’t keep looking the other way while hard-working folks slip through the cracks.”

– Angie Giselbach, speaking about the need for Medicaid expansion as outlined in SQ 802  [Angie Giselbach / Oklahoman]

“You’ve addressed the immediate urgency of overcrowding, but you haven’t addressed the projected growth, which is going to continue and lead to more overcrowding unless more policy changes for the long term are adopted.” 

-Len Engel, Crime and Justice Institute policy director, speaking about Oklahoma’s criminal justice system [StateImpact Oklahoma] 

Since 2010, 120 rural hospitals have closed, with states in the south faring worst, with Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma leading the way. The analysis found that hospitals located in states that have not adopted the expansion of Medicaid – a public insurance program that provides health coverage to low-income families and individuals – have a lower average operating margin, putting them at greater risk of closing.

[The Guardian]

“The 22 healthiest states in the 2018 rankings were all states that expanded Medicaid.”

-Lynne White, vice president of government relations and political action with Oklahoma Hospital Association [Enid News & Eagle]

“It’s something that we need to go in and have an actual conversation about – not go to Washington, D.C., and be a guinea pig for whatever we have coming out. We’ll be the first state in the nation to try this if we do it. Oklahoma doesn’t need to be a guinea pig.”

State Rep. Matt Meredith, D-Tahlequah, speaking about the Governor’s proposed Medicaid expansion proposal [Tahlequah Daily Press]

“Addiction, substance abuse, the low-level property crime to feed the addiction, that’s a health issue, not a criminal issue. We’re incarcerating people that we’re not really afraid of, we’re just mad at them and we’re putting them in prison for the majority of their productive years for earning a living and stand on their feet.”

-Sarah Edwards, campaign president for Yes on 805 [Tulsa World]

“When (Earned Income Tax Credits) are not refundable, that means people are not getting that money back to spend on what they need … That’s a big loss for those families and it’s also a big loss to your local economy.”

-Courtney Cullison, Economic Opportunity Analyst for the Oklahoma Policy Institute, speaking about negative impacts from Oklahoma’s decision to make EITC credits non-refundable. [The Daily Ardmoreite] 

“The key to success for those being released (from prison) is having education opportunities, job training, mental health resources and other social supports. Commutations are only one part of the equation. Real reform begins with reducing the number of people going to prison in the first place.”

-Tulsa World Editorial Board [Tulsa World]

“My hospital in Pauls Valley closed last year, and this was no doubt a contributing factor. There’s a segment of my district that doesn’t have hospital and emergency room access because of this.”

-Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, speaking about how Oklahoma’s decision to not expand Medicaid impacted hospitals in the state [NonDoc]

“(We) really see providing access to education while a person is incarcerated is in the best interest of public safety, certainly good for local employers, and of course good to help someone get their footing on the path to economic stability when they come back home.”

-Le’Ann Duran, economic mobility director for the Council of State Governments Justice Center [Tulsa World]