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In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Today you should know that Gov. Fallin ordered a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature to address recent lawsuit reform legislation that was thrown out by the state supreme court. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, CommunityCare, GlobalHealth and Coventry Health Care Inc. have applied to sell health plans online via Oklahoma’s competitive insurance marketplace, or ‘exchange’, under the Affordable Care Act in 2014.
Corrections officers at a rural Oklahoma facility are worried about ‘large disturbances and perhaps facility-wide riots’ due to understaffing and overcrowding at the prison. The University of Oklahoma sold a physical rehabilitation hospital in Okmulgee to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, marking the first time a public university in the state has transferred property to an American Indian nation.
The Oklahoman Editorial argued for a rational debate over whether state tax credits for horizontal drilling are still necessary. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the contempt conviction of a former Oklahoma police officer charged in a case that has vacated or modified convictions of at least 48 people in prison because of civil rights violations or potential problems with their cases stemming from police corruption.
In today’s Policy Note, Urban Tulsa Weekly explored the crucial role of Medicaid and Medicaid expansion for the Native American health system in Oklahoma. The Number of the Day is the percentage of consumer credit accounts – which includes first mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, and ‘other’ – that are delinquent in Oklahoma.
In The News
Gov. Mary Fallin orders special session for Oklahoma Legislature to address lawsuit reform
The Oklahoma Legislature will return next month for a special session to address lawsuit reform. Gov. Mary Fallin issued an executive order Monday calling for the special session to start Sept. 3. Legislators are being asked to fix House Bill 1603, which the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared unconstitutional after the 2013 legislative session ended because the original legislation contained more than one subject.
4 companies set to offer Oklahomans health insurance
Oklahomans will likely be offered plans by four companies when the state’s health insurance exchange opens Oct. 1, but options and prices depend on where they live, their age and whether they smoke. Officials have told the Tulsa World four companies applied to offer health insurance on the web site known as Oklahoma’s insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.” The exchanges are on track to open Oct. 1, federal officials said.
Read more from the Tulsa World
Oklahoma prison guards cope with low staffing, overcrowding
Just before sunrise each weekday, Lt. Jai Batson holds a meeting to assign 19 officers to guard nearly 1,400 medium-security inmates at Joseph Harp Correctional Center: an average of 74 inmates per officer. Fifteen minutes later on this July morning, officers arrive to relieve their midnight shift counterparts. For the next eight hours, they work their assigned units with no break except meals coinciding with inmate “chow hall” times.
University of Oklahoma sells Okmulgee rehabilitation center to Muscogee (Creek) Nation
The University of Oklahoma turned over control of an Okmulgee physical rehabilitation hospital to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on Monday. OU President David Boren and Creek Nation Principal Chief George Tiger finalized the sale of the Okmulgee-based George Nigh Rehabilitation Center at a signing ceremony Monday at OU. The $1 million sale marks the first time a public university in Oklahoma has transferred property to an American Indian nation.
Drilling tax credit idea worthy of consideration
A state official last month lit a match to a flammable issue when he suggested it was time to reconsider a key Oklahoma drilling incentive. His purpose wasn’t to push a change but to spur a discussion. Nevertheless, voices on both sides of the debate soon fanned the flames with passionate pleas to either scrap the incentive or preserve it.
Appeals court upholds former Tulsa officer Jeff Henderson’s contempt conviction
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld February’s contempt conviction of a former Tulsa police officer. The Denver-based court hasn’t yet decided Jeff Henderson’s appeal of convictions in 2011 flowing from an investigation of police corruption.
Quote of the Day
“An older offender came up to me … and he said, ‘Just remember, we let you work here.’ We’re so outnumbered. They could take this place over anytime if they wanted to, any time, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Lt. Jai Batson, an officer at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington Oklahoma
Number of the Day
5.5 percent
Percentage of consumer credit accounts – first mortgages, student loans, credit cards, auto loans, and ‘other’ – that are delinquent in Oklahoma, on par with the national delinquency rate
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 1st quarter 2013
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Closing in on Change: Medicaid waiver sought for Native American health
Maybe one out of every 100 patients has private health insurance when they pass through the doors of the Indian Health Care Resource Center in Tulsa, estimated Eddie Hathcoat, chief operating officer for the nonprofit organization. “The majority of our patients are uninsured or indigent,” Hathcoat said. By his estimate, “probably somewhere around 80 percent” have no health care coverage.
Read more from Urban Tulsa Weekly
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To Lt. Jai Batson, you signed on for this gig, so suck it up. As for the inmates taking over the facility at any time, that has been true since the beginning. Those of us who have stood against the odds would respond to that inmate with, “You can take it but, we’ll always get it back,” that will send the message an “Old Convict” would respect. Inmates, and convicts, love to see staff scared and complaining, it shows weakness and that they will play on. Nineteen officers to fourteen hundred inmates on a normal work day is low but, not unmanageable. I agree the DOC is in need of an overhaul as is most of our county jails and in fact the system in general. The people of this state need to take charge and quit acting like children by avoiding those issues that are unpleasant.
To Jai, from one Lieutenant to another, “Never let them see you sweat” and be careful.
Truman O. Bidelspach, DOJ BOP Lieutenant (retired)
I copy your comment and ask a serious question, CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A LEADER WHO CAN DIRECT US AS TO WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO?
I agree the DOC is in need of an overhaul as is most of our county jails and in fact the system in general. The people of this state need to take charge and quit acting like children by avoiding those issues that are unpleasant.
I am aware the courts, inmates, guards, our economy, (examples) are in serious trouble, all around. We keep naming the issues that are unpleasant with no solution. No one person can know all the answers but all of us listening to each other should be able to make a difference.