Topic: Health

Speak up by Friday: Protect SoonerCare for thousands of Oklahoma families

By: Guest
January 16, 2019 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This spring, Governor Fallin and the state Legislature directed the state Medicaid agency to build a plan to cut health coverage for low-income parents who don’t meet a work requirement. When a draft of the agency’s plan became available this… Read more [More...]

Want to improve the mental health of Oklahomans? Expand Medicaid.

By: Lauren Turner
January 9, 2019 // Updated: May 14, 2019
Oklahoma is in crisis.  While need for mental health care climbs, Oklahomans overwhelmingly lack access to the care needed to address these sometimes preventable, always treatable conditions. This has serious consequences: untreated mental illness can mean increased risk for other… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s progress on child uninsured rate has stalled

By: Carly Putnam
November 29, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
All children should be able to see a doctor or fill a prescription when they need to. After all, access to quality health care in childhood makes it more likely that a person will succeed and thrive throughout their life.… Read more [More...]

To help rural Oklahoma families, expand Medicaid

By: Carly Putnam
November 6, 2018 // Updated: March 3, 2020
Millions of Americans gained access to health coverage in 2014 when big parts of the Affordable Care Act kicked in – but the health law’s effects were always muted in Oklahoma. When Oklahoma policymakers declined to accept federal funds to… Read more [More...]

SQ 793 is about corporate control of a medical profession (Guest Post: Joel Robison)

By: Guest
October 18, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Of the five state questions on the ballot in November, only SQ 793, which would allow optometrists and opticians to operate in retail establishments, is the subject of intense, well-funded campaigns from both supporters and opponents. We asked both campaigns… Read more [More...]

SQ 793 will expand vision care access for low-income Oklahomans (Guest Post: John Kusel)

By: Guest
// Updated: May 2, 2019
Of the five state questions on the ballot in November, only SQ 793, which would allow optometrists and opticians to operate in retail establishments, is the subject of intense, well-funded campaigns from both supporters and opponents. We asked both campaigns… Read more [More...]

Billions of dollars for Oklahoma and health care for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans at stake in this election (Capitol Update)

By: Steve Lewis
October 15, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. The new CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association (OHA), Patti Davis, has decided to advocate openly for… Read more [More...]

New Census data shows that Oklahoma fell further behind the U.S. on poverty and uninsured rate for second consecutive year

By: Courtney Cullison
September 13, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma lags behind the nation in our efforts to help families get ahead. New data from the Census Bureau shows that poverty in Oklahoma is still above the national average. In 2017, nearly 1 in 6 Oklahomans (15.8 percent) were living… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s plan for Medicaid work requirements is a dangerous experiment that will put the health of thousands of Oklahomans at risk (Guest post: Philip Rocco)

By: Guest
September 5, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Philip Rocco is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Marquette University and co-author of Obamacare Wars: Federalism, State Politics, and the Affordable Care Act (University Press of Kansas, 2016). This post is excerpted from a public comment authored by… Read more [More...]

The future of medical marijuana in Oklahoma

By: Damion Shade
August 30, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
More than half a million Oklahomans voted in favor of State Question 788 legalizing medical marijuana, making Oklahoma the 30th state in the nation to legalize the drug in some form. SQ 788 directed the Department of Health to issue rules governing the implementation of the… Read more [More...]