Topic: Health

Groundbreaking report reveals more than $200 million in savings from Oklahoma justice reform

A new report shows how Oklahoma voters’ decision to prioritize rehabilitation over incarceration has resulted in a dramatic drop in crime, a 47 percent reduction in prison sentences, and the largest local mental health and substance abuse investment in state… Read more [More...]

Community-led crisis response is working, but Oklahoma needs a statewide solution (Commentary)

Oklahoma City's new Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) program represents a meaningful step toward the justice reform envisioned by Oklahoma voters nearly a decade ago. But expanding similar services beyond metro areas requires sustained commitment and investment from the state. [More...]

Dental Therapy Act (HB 2921) can help address our dental care needs 

Contact your legislator in support of the Oklahoma Dental Therapy Act, House Bill 2921. • Find your lawmaker using OK Policy’s Legislator Lookup The Dental Therapy Act in Oklahoma can help address our unmet dental care needs This legislative session,… Read more [More...]

Black Health: Dying in Oklahoma (Commentary)

Neither the United States Constitution nor the Bill of Rights guarantee health care as a basic right for any American. Our nation and our neighbors struggle with access to affordable health care and prescription medicine. However, for Black Oklahomans, lack… Read more [More...]

Passing Dental Therapy Legislation in Oklahoma: Offering Essential Services in Underserved Areas (Guest Article)

Lawmakers should consider dental therapy legislation to expand needed essential dental services for the state's rural, Tribal, and underserved communities. [More...]

Meaningful change still needed to address mounting problems in the child welfare and youth justice systems (2024 Legislative Wrap-up)

Oklahoma is not known for being a safe and hospitable place for children. Oklahoma, for the second year in a row, ranks 46th nationally in overall child well-being. Lawmakers sought to address this problem in the 2024 session by passing budget increases to vital services like the child welfare and youth justice systems. However, Oklahoma’s structural budget deficit has meant that state agencies and service providers in the child welfare systems have continually been forced to do more with less year after year. [More...]

KIDS COUNT 2023 Report Shows Oklahoma Ranks 46th for Child Well-Being

The rankings from the new Annie E. Casey Foundation report show Oklahoma’s poor child well-being outcomes. These results demonstrate the impact of the state’s ongoing disinvestment in programs and services that help our children thrive, including helping parents get affordable,… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma residents who use SoonerCare need to take action to keep their coverage

[See this announcement in Spanish] [Informational Handout – English, PDF] | [Informational Handout – Spanish, PDF] – – – Rules are changing for SoonerCare, which provides health care insurance for many Oklahoma residents and their families.  Starting April 1, 2023,… Read more [More...]

New report shows Oklahoma led nation in improving health insurance coverage, but more than 75,000 Oklahoma children remain uninsured

The rate of Oklahoma children without health care insurance decreased significantly – from 8.6 percent to 7.4 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to a new report from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families. This marked the nation’s largest… Read more [More...]

Dental therapy can improve Oklahoma’s oral health, help address dental workforce shortage

This guest post was written by Michelle Dennison, Vice President of Policies and Prevention at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, and Julie Seward, the Oral Health Programs Manager at the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board. – – – Oklahoma does… Read more [More...]