STATEMENT: Supreme Court ruling means it's time to move forward

David Blatt, Director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act: The Supreme Court ruling to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act is a significant victory… Read more [More...]

Legislature poised to limit access to mammograms, prostate screenings, immunizations & more

While the new federal health law has expanded consumer guarantees for minimum health benefits, Oklahoma is poised to move in the opposite direction. Embedded in an ‘interstate compact’ bill to allow out-of-state insurers to sell policies in Oklahoma is a… Read more [More...]

Kaiser Health News: Health industries weigh in on Supreme Court case

This story was written by Jay Hancock, a staff writer for Kaiser Health News, a publication of the Kaiser Family Foundation and was originally published on March 22nd, 2012.  For a break down of the issues being debated before the… Read more [More...]

The Affordable Care Act: What has it done for you lately?

This week marks two years since landmark health care reform legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law.  While some of the law’s major provisions have yet to take effect, many of the rule-changes and programs that have… Read more [More...]

High Court Hears Health Law: What's up for debate?

The United States Supreme Court is gearing up for oral argument in what is sure to be a landmark case in American history – the multi-state challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the federal health reform law passed by Congress… Read more [More...]

Dismantling the rural health workforce pipeline

For the past 27 years, a statewide network of Area Health Education Centers (OKAHEC) has worked to increase the supply of primary care providers and improve access to health care in Oklahoma’s rural and underserved communities. Now this program is… Read more [More...]

Stuck at the Drawing Board: Legislature tries again on federal health law

Following a year of open defiance and several months of interim study, the Oklahoma Legislature now appears poised to take action on a major requirement of the new federal health care law, the Affordable Care Act.  States are required by… Read more [More...]

Public Health Epidemics in Oklahoma

This fact sheet and presentation were given to a town hall meeting in Oklahoma City on February 16th.  The meeting featured several public health experts who spoke about urgent public health epidemics in Oklahoma, including our director David Blatt and,… Read more [More...]

Report: Affordable Care Act to substantially expand coverage, reduce uncompensated care in Oklahoma

The Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that takes full effect in 2014, is expected to provide health insurance coverage to over 335,000 uninsured Oklahomans and reduce the state’s uncompensated health care costs by more than two-thirds ,… Read more [More...]

The pseudoephedrine debate: Available with or without a prescription?

The question of whether to require a prescription for the purchase of pseudoephedrine (the main ingredient in medications such as Sudafed) as a means to help combat the production of methamphetamine,  promises to be one of the  hotly contested issues… Read more [More...]