By:
Miguel Rios
June 21, 2021 // Updated: June 21, 2021

Thanks to voter-approved Medicaid expansion, more than 100,000 Oklahomans will finally have health care coverage starting on July 1. To celebrate this historic milestone, Oklahoma Policy Institute is hosting a June 30 event to reflect on the journey to this…
Read more [More...]

Oklahoma children need housing, food, health care, educational opportunities, and stable, nurturing environments to succeed. These essentials, however, are out of reach for many Oklahomans as the result of poverty, structural racism, and other barriers.
[More...]

With Medicaid expansion finally funded, the state now has a number of common sense options to maximize federal Medicaid spending and further ensure access to high-quality, affordable health care for all.
[More...]

We must look at the factors that actually impact health and increase our investment in the mental, physical, and economic well-being of all Oklahomans.
[More...]

Time is closing in on legislators. The constitutional deadline for sine die adjournment is the last Friday in May, which this year May 28. But in the past few years the Legislature has recessed before the deadline to give itself…
Read more [More...]
By:
Emma Morris
April 27, 2021 // Updated: April 27, 2021

Privatized managed care is not supported by peer-reviewed evidence: it hasn’t been definitively linked to budget savings or improved health outcomes. In fact, it will likely cost the state money and harm many Oklahoma communities. Lawmakers have the option and the responsibility to protect Oklahomans’ health care and stop this reckless change.
[More...]

Senate Bill 511, which was signed into law by Gov. Stitt, creates pathways to decrease preventable overdose deaths while supporting Oklahomans with substance use disorders.
[More...]
By:
Emma Morris
April 22, 2021 // Updated: April 21, 2021

In order to realize these enormous benefits, the state must ensure that Medicaid expansion is implemented well and that all eligible Oklahomans can enroll in the health program. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) has taken some steps to make this a reality. Now, the agency must commit to developing and implementing a comprehensive outreach and enrollment assistance plan.
[More...]

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority — at the request of Gov. Stitt — has approved moving SoonerCare (Oklahoma’s Medicaid program) to a privatized managed care model. In early 2021, OHCA authorized $2 billion in managed care contracts to four companies.
[More...]
By:
Emma Morris
March 25, 2021 // Updated: March 26, 2021

As Oklahoma moves to implement Medicaid expansion in July 2021, some 200,000 newly eligible Oklahomans will gain access to affordable health care, and the state will see significant economic returns.
[More...]