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...]

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

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

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

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

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”

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...]