
Few policy ideas have proven as persistent — or misleading — as the notion that forcing people to work will lift them out of poverty. The Big Beautiful Bill, or House Resolution 1 (H.R. 1), revives that same flawed logic:…
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Medicaid – known in Oklahoma as SoonerCare – is the health backbone for nearly a million Oklahomans: children, working parents, people with disabilities, and seniors. But under the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” also known as H.R. 1, that foundation is…
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By:
Emma Morris
February 27, 2023 // Updated: March 2, 2023

[See this announcement in Spanish]
[Informational Handout – English, PDF] | [Informational Handout – Spanish, PDF]
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Rules are changing for SoonerCare, which provides health care insurance for many Oklahoma residents and their families.
Starting April 1, 2023,…
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By:
Emma Morris
December 7, 2022 // Updated: December 7, 2022

The rate of Oklahoma children without health care insurance decreased significantly – from 8.6 percent to 7.4 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to a new report from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families. This marked the nation’s largest…
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Leading up to when Oklahoma expanded Medicaid coverage, Oklahoma had a large uninsured population of American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). But as a consequence of Medicaid expansion and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s (OHCA) inclusion of — and consultation…
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By:
Emma Morris
November 2, 2022 // Updated: November 3, 2022

Oklahoma consistently ranks poorly on women’s and children’s health. While Oklahoma’s decision to expand Medicaid has significantly lowered the state’s uninsured rate, Oklahoma women have historically seen high rates of uninsurance. At 23.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, the…
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By:
Carly Putnam
September 16, 2022 // Updated: September 11, 2023

New data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey released Sept. 15 show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate (15.6 percent) was the nation’s 8th highest, increasing slightly in 2021 when compared to 2019’s pre-pandemic levels (15.2 percent). A closer look at…
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Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma has allowed more than 300,000 residents to enroll for health care, but almost 82,000 Oklahomans who are immigrants remain uninsured. Since the mid-1990s, many immigrants are either partially or entirely ineligible for federal public benefits programs,…
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Oklahoma prisons are constitutionally required to provide medical services to the more than 21,000 people in their custody. As those individuals are released back to their communities, they are at risk of losing health care coverage unless insurance is available,…
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By:
Emma Morris
June 28, 2022 // Updated: June 28, 2022

As of April 25, 2022, more than 280,000 Oklahomans across the state have been able to lead healthier lives because of Medicaid expansion. When voting to approve expanding Medicaid to include low-income, working-age adults, Oklahoma voters knew the benefits: expansion…
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