Topic: Health Funding

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

By: Guest
February 6, 2019 // Updated: February 6, 2019
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

By: Carly Putnam
June 29, 2018 // Updated: January 19, 2019
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...]

The doomsday scenario has already begun — but it can be stopped

By: Carly Putnam
November 13, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
Twenty-five elderly Oklahomans lost their home early last week when Wynnewood Care Center closed.  After taking years of reimbursement cuts and expecting more to come, the small skilled-nursing facility in Wynnewood had to shut down and move residents into other… Read more [More...]

Health care is increasingly central to Oklahoma’s economy

By: Gene Perry
July 5, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
If you ask a person on the street what Oklahoma’s economy is known for, two industries likely to come to mind are oil and gas drilling and agriculture. Yet when we look at the jobs Oklahomans are working in today,… Read more [More...]

Care for seniors, people with disabilities at risk as DHS grapples with budget shortfall

By: Carly Putnam
June 20, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
Most Americans (nearly 90 percent of people over at 65) want to stay in their homes as long as possible as they get older. For people with disabilities, staying in one’s home represents decades of hard-fought court battles against forced… Read more [More...]

Amid budget deadlock, a reminder of what’s at stake

By: Gene Perry
May 19, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
At the state Capitol, lawmakers remain deadlocked over how to find enough revenue to avoid crippling budget scenarios. The main barrier appears to be legislative leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on removing huge tax breaks for oil and gas producers. On… Read more [More...]

DHS Director: Oklahoma budget cut scenarios range “from the terrible to the unthinkable”

By: Gene Perry
March 23, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
Unless lawmakers find new revenues to close their budget shortfall, Oklahoma is looking at unprecedented cuts to the most basic services of state government, including those for the most vulnerable seniors, children, and people with disabilities. Even before next year’s… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma DHS is about to run out of money to pay for care of vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities

By: Carly Putnam
March 22, 2017 // Updated: January 19, 2019
There are honest arguments and discussions to be had about the place and role of government. However, we generally agree that the government has an important role in protecting the lives and health of Americans who aren’t able to protect… Read more [More...]