On World AIDS Day, a call to speak up

Andy Moore is the Clinic Administrator for the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, organizer of the OKC AIDS Coalition, and member of the board of trustees for the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund. In June… 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...]

Oklahomans have from now until December 15 to get health insurance for 2018

This post is by OK Policy intern Lydia Lapidus. Lydia is a recent graduate from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs with a concentration in International Politics. Fall is here, and the Healthcare.gov online marketplace is up and… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s Insurance Commissioner is preparing ​t​o undermine the people working to insure Oklahomans

Earlier this month, Oklahoma Insurance ​Commissioner John Doak testified before a U.S. Congressional Committee that he wants Congress to eliminate Navigators,​​ the community workers who help enroll people in health care under the Affordable Care Act​. Doak told Congress that he opposes… Read more [More...]

How does SQ 788 compare to other states’ medical marijuana laws?

Next year, Oklahomans will vote on State Question 788, a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana. As of 2017, 29 states have approved measures legalizing the drug for medical purposes. We often think of legalization in binary terms — either… Read more [More...]

New Census data shows Oklahoma fell further behind the U.S. on poverty and uninsured rate in 2016

New Census data shows the percentage of families living in poverty in Oklahoma increased in 2016, even as the national poverty rate declined to its lowest point since 2008. In 2016, almost one out of six Oklahomans (16.3 percent) were making… Read more [More...]

Loss of federal prevention funds will lead to more unintended teen pregnancies

If we want to make sure every Oklahoman has the chance to become a productive, healthy adult, then preventing teen pregnancies is one of the most important things we can do. While some teen mothers and their children manage to beat… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma has an ambitious plan to bring health insurance premiums down. Here’s how.

Last year, health care premiums in Oklahoma for policies offered on Healthcare.gov by the state’s lone remaining nongroup insurer soared by more than 70 percent, the highest increase that year. In response, the state is now poised to use the… Read more [More...]

It’s time to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma

At long last, it appears that the Affordable Care Act will remain the law of the land. Efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act have fallen apart over deep and fundamental schisms around health care within the Republican party, particularly… Read more [More...]

The table is set to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma (Capitol Updates)

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. Years ago, when I was in the legislature, I was accused by an editor of one of… Read more [More...]