Topic: Health

Funding shortfalls motivate finding waste… but also ending important services (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
July 2, 2015 // 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. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

Statement: Supreme Court health care decision is a victory for Oklahomans

By: Gene Perry
June 25, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court decision upholding subsidies for insurance purchased on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace: The Supreme Court decision is a victory for tens of thousands of Oklahomans and… Read more [More...]

Flat funding still means cuts for Oklahoma’s core services

By: David Blatt
June 9, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In crafting a budget in the face of a large drop in available revenue, lawmakers this year made a sincere effort to minimize cuts to key agencies in the areas of education, health, and safety. Whereas most agencies took cuts… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s refusal of federal dollars especially hurts African-American and Hispanic families

By: Drew Capps
May 28, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Drew Capps interned with OK Policy this spring and recently graduated from the University of Tulsa. We’ve discussed previously, and at length, why Governor Fallin’s decision to reject federal funds to expand health coverage to low-income Oklahomans is the wrong… Read more [More...]

The Data Is In: Oklahomans are actively using Affordable Care Act

By: Guest
May 14, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steven Goldman, PhD is a Navigator at Oklahoma Primary Care Association. He can be reached at sgoldman@okpca.org. Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) recently reached its fifth year, the law’s main incentives for expanding health coverage are still young. The… Read more [More...]

Prescription monitoring bill is a good first step. It’s also not enough.

By: Carly Putnam
May 4, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Last year, we argued that the legislature had missed an opportunity by punting on a bill that would have required doctors to check the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP) before writing a prescription for some of the most dangerous drugs,… Read more [More...]

Watch this: “Is Obamacare Working? The Affordable Care Act Five Years Later”

By: Carly Putnam
April 30, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On the five-year anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, author and blogger John Green asks: is it working? The answer is yes – and no. In the clip below, Green discusses the ACA’s successes, including a sharply… Read more [More...]

Federal Money As Promised (FMAP)

By: David Blatt
April 16, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s rare that Congress finds bipartisan consensus on important issues, but that happened last month when the House approved health care legislation that includes an extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Last night the bill was overwhelmingly… Read more [More...]

Medicaid back on the chopping block

By: David Blatt
April 7, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As the Oklahoma Legislature enters the final months of session, state agencies and the populations they serve are bracing for another round of painful budget cuts. A stark example of the high stakes involved in this year’s budget shortfall is… Read more [More...]

Kansas is considering expanding health coverage. Oklahoma should, too.

By: Carly Putnam
March 25, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s no secret that Kansas’s budget is in crisis. Following years of tax cuts and fiscal mismanagement, the state finds itself in a $600 million budget shortfall. The state is scrambling to fill the gap, including across-the-board budget reductions and… Read more [More...]