Topic: Health Funding

New GAO report details problems with managed care (Capitol Update)

Recently Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, issued a press release expressing his continued opposition to the Medicaid managed care proposal of Gov. Stitt. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) issued a Request for Proposal for insurance companies to bid on becoming… Read more [More...]

Vape Taxes Aren’t the Answer for Medicaid Expansion

While there are arguments to pass a vape tax as a public health measure, it would likely be an insufficient and unstable way to fund a public program as crucial to our health as Medicaid. [More...]

Managed care will have a disproportionate impact on Indigenous communities

This is the third of three analysis pieces about the plan to introduce managed care organizations (MCOs) to oversee Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. Part one focused on managed care being a bad investment for Oklahoma, and part two focused on managed… Read more [More...]

Managed care is a bad investment for Oklahoma

Following voters’ approval of Medicaid expansion during the June 30 election, Oklahoma’s next steps should be relatively simple. The state has already been providing high-quality, low-cost Medicaid for years; the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) has a decades-long track record of excellence in efficiency and effectiveness. OHCA could expand Medicaid to cover more than 200,000 low-income Oklahomans for between $125 million and $164 million, all without raising taxes.   [More...]

No matter how we fund it, Medicaid expansion will be the best investment we’ve ever made

Oklahomans on June 30 approved State Question 802, which amended the Oklahoma Constitution to expand Medicaid to low-income adults. Now it’s time to take the next step in implementing that promise. Funding expansion will be a key issue for the Legislature to tackle this spring. [More...]

There are no good reasons not to expand Medicaid

It’s been over seven years since states first began expanding Medicaid to cover low-income working-age adults. To date, 37 states (including the District of Columbia) have opted to expand coverage, and not a single state having done so has since… Read more [More...]

End of Session Health Care Round-Up: We’ve seen worse, but still no expansion

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about this year's legislative session from a health care perspective is that, refreshingly, this was the first in recent years that didn't include a full-scale attack on access to SoonerCare. [More...]

Budget Overview: The rebuilding project continues

Overall, it's best to think of this budget as a second step on what needs to be a long journey. When adjusted for inflation, this budget is still 10.1 percent  below the FY 2009 level. Over half of state agencies still have lower budgets than they did in FY 2009 without accounting for inflation. [More...]

Hurry Up and Wait: For thousands of families, critical services can be a decade away (Guest Post: Erin Taylor)

There is a certain amount of hustle commonly involved in raising a child with a developmental disability.  As parents, we’re managing special education plans, medical appointments, and specialty therapies. But there is one experience where endurance, and not hustle, is called for: The Waiting List. [More...]

Now that Oklahoma’s federal Medicaid funding is climbing, let’s not repeat past mistakes

For Oklahoma families to prosper, they must be able to take advantage of work and educational opportunities. But working or doing well in school is much, much harder without consistent access to health care. SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, provides that… Read more [More...]