Topic: Health

Are Medicaid patients overusing the ER?

By: David Blatt
August 21, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In the debate over Medicaid, a frequently heard claim is that Medicaid recipients overuse emergency rooms for non-emergency care, and that we need to address this problem if we are to contain Medicaid spending. This past session, the Legislature approved… Read more [More...]

Tobacco tax revenue declined last year. Here’s why that’s mostly good news.

By: David Blatt
August 13, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In 2004, Oklahoma voters approved SQ 713, which increased the excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products while eliminating the state and local sales tax on these products. The new revenues from the increased taxes were dedicated to a… Read more [More...]

Results on the first year of Obamacare are in. What’s it look like for Oklahoma?

By: Carly Putnam
August 4, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The Affordable Care Act’s first open enrollment period, when eligible Americans could compare and purchase health insurance on the online marketplaces, was a bit of a roller coaster. But despite considerable hiccups with the launch of Healthcare.gov in October, eight… Read more [More...]

Gov. Fallin blames Obama for Oklahoma’s Medicaid cuts. The real reason is closer to home.

By: Carly Putnam
July 14, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Earlier this year, we warned that Oklahoma risked deep cuts to our state’s health care safety net if we didn’t increase state funding for Medicaid and mental health services. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers Medicaid, needed $90 million… Read more [More...]

Insure Oklahoma extended – but we could do so much more

By: Carly Putnam
July 9, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A rare bright spot in health care-related news came early last week with the announcement that Insure Oklahoma, a public-private partnership providing health insurance for some 18,500 low-income Oklahomans and their families, has been given permission by the federal government… Read more [More...]

Opportunity Missed: the Prescription Monitoring Program in Oklahoma

By: Carly Putnam
July 3, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in Oklahoma. In 2012, Oklahoma ranked first nationwide for painkiller addiction, fifth for deaths due to drug overdoses, and fifth for number of painkiller prescriptions written. Preliminary data from the Bureau of Narcotics and… Read more [More...]

More proof that hiking Medicaid copays doesn’t add up

By: Carly Putnam
June 24, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
As we’ve discussed before in this blog post and fact sheet, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is considering hiking copayments for Medicaid patients to get a prescription or doctor’s visit, as a way to partially cover Oklahoma’s Medicaid funding shortfall. … Read more [More...]

Act quickly to stop harmful Medicaid changes

By: Carly Putnam
June 16, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
A few weeks ago, we reported on the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s plan to increase copayments for Medicaid recipients in an effort to cut costs in the face of a $90 million budget shortfall. These copay increases could be devastating… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma needs more primary care physicians, but we’re still putting up barriers (Guest post: JeVonna Caine)

By: Guest
June 4, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
JeVonna Caine, one of OK Policy’s 2013-14 Research Fellows, is pursuing a Masters of Public Health in Health Administration and Policy from the OU Health Sciences Center, while also working at the State Department of Health in the Health Planning… Read more [More...]

More than 50 Oklahoma musicians release song to raise awareness of Affordable Care Act

By: Carly Putnam
May 30, 2014 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On June 4 in Tulsa and June 5 in Oklahoma City, the Red Dirt Rangers are hosting a release party for a single and music video produced by more than fifty Oklahoma musicians. The new song, “Stand (Let Your Voices… Read more [More...]