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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
Fact Sheet: State Question 847 – Changing assessment caps for property tax: State Question 847 would lower Oklahoma’s assessment caps for property taxes beginning in 2027. These caps limit how much a property’s assessed value can increase each year for tax purposes; property taxes are calculated on this assessed value. SQ 847 would decrease the assessment cap for homestead and agricultural property in Oklahoma from 3 percent to 1.75 percent. The cap for other real property, including commercial property, would decrease from 5 percent to 4 percent. SQ 847 would not change the state’s current senior freeze program. For seniors with income above the current limit for the senior freeze program, it would add additional assessment cap tiers ranging from 0.35 percent to 1.75 percent, depending on income. [Aanahita Irani Ervin / OK Policy]
Policy Matters: Voters need to see the whole movie, not just the final scene: Three out of four Oklahoma voters didn’t vote in June’s primary. In the August runoff, four out of five stayed home. With so many not participating, blaming voters alone misses the point. Oklahomans should ask: What are we doing, or not doing, that leaves so many feeling disconnected from decisions that affect their lives? [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record]
Stitt’s tenure ban tests the limits of executive power (Capitol Update): Following the recent federal government model, it seems that Governor Kevin Stitt has expanded the practice of ruling by executive order. Rather than proposing a law, working to get it passed by the Legislature, then executing it as provided in the Oklahoma Constitution, it’s easier to just issue an executive order. That way, there’s no need to consult, explain, convince, or compromise with a troublesome group of elected legislators. Just order it done, and it’s done — unless the executive order is challenged in court, an expensive proposition both financially and, for most anyone, perhaps job security. It seems like the lazy way to govern. [Steve Lewis / Capitol Update]
OK Policy in the News
What next year’s big Medicaid changes could mean for Oklahomans: Significant changes to Medicaid are set to take effect next year, altering how millions of Americans––including nearly 1 in 4 Oklahomans––access and maintain their health coverage. [Oklahoma City Free Press]
Oklahomans brace for work requirements for SoonerCare: Advocates are bracing for how federal work requirements for SoonerCare will impact the estimated 126,000 Oklahomans who will have to adhere to them. [The Oklahoman]
- From OK Policy: “Work requirements” won’t work for Oklahoma
Weekly What’s That
FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage)
FMAP (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage) is the share of Medicaid expenditures paid by the federal government.
Medicaid is funded through a combination of federal and state dollars. The standard federal share is determined by a mathematical formula, laid out in federal statute, that considers a state’s per capita income in relation to national per capita income. States with higher personal income receive a lower federal match (but never less than 50 percent), while states with lower personal income get a higher federal match (but never more than 82 percent).
Under the law, the federal share is recalculated annually based on the most-recently available three-year data on personal income. States that are enjoying stronger economic growth than the national average will see their federal match decline, and vice versa. On several occasions, Congress has increased the FMAP for all states during recessions, most recently boosting the FMAP for all states by 6.2 percentage points effective January 1, 2020 in response to COVID-19. The enhanced COVID match rate began to phase down as of April 1, 2023 and expired January 1, 2024.
Oklahoma’s FMAP for federal fiscal year 2027 is 65.86 percent. Mississippi currently has the highest FMAP (excluding U.S. territories) at 77.32 percent, while ten states have a 50.0 percent FMAP. In years when a state’s FMAP rate fluctuates by a substantial amount, it can have a significant impact on the state budget, as greater (or fewer) state dollars will be needed to pay for the same amount of services.
Along with the standard FMAP, some Medicaid populations and services are eligible for an enhanced FMAP. The federal share is 100 percent for Medicaid-eligible Native Americans and Alaska Natives through Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities. It is 90 percent for adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level made eligible by the Affordable Care Act, as well as for family planning services and certain other services. Certain low-income children and pregnant women are also eligible for an enhanced state-specific FMAP through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“It’s been proven, over and over, that when a rural hospital closes, the population that it serves becomes sicker. Not only that, we then are losing a vital business in that community … so the domino effect is huge with all of this. It’s not just about cutting payment to a physician.”
– Oklahoma State Medical Association President Dr. Julie Strebel, speaking about rural hospitals that could be at greater risk of closure if a decreased reimbursement rate for Medicare is stacked on top of other recent cuts to federal healthcare plans. [KOSU]
Editorial of the Week
Editorial: Will new Oklahoma government help those on SoonerCare?
Health care, as we all know, is expensive, and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers SoonerCare, had a budget of $1.41 billion for fiscal year 2027, which was second only to the amount allotted for public education.
The good news is that the state picks up only a fraction of the $12 billion total cost of the program, and the federal government pays the rest.
However, the bad news now coming from Washington, DC, is that beginning in January new work requirements are being imposed on some SoonerCare participants ― an estimated 126,000 Oklahomans or about 12% of the total number in the program. Those affected, adults age 19-64, will have to complete 80 hours of work, community service or education in order to keep their insurance.
In January, Oklahoma will have a new governor, and new agency leaders at the Capitol will be administering the state’s health care and food assistance support system.
The two candidates for governor, Republican Mike Mazzei and Democrat Cyndi Munson, may well have very different ideas on how the new work requirements should be interpreted and administered.
Oklahoma’s new administration in 2027 might welcome a drop in program enrollment ― regardless of its cause ― because it would save money that, perhaps, could then be used for other priorities.
Or the new administration could redouble its efforts to reach out and work hand-in-hand with Oklahoma’s poor to explain the new rules, help identify work, volunteer and educational opportunities, cut the red tape and simplify the compliance process. Program cuts intended to save money would leave thousands of Oklahomans without health insurance, essentially telling them to go to the emergency room when they’re sick, ultimately increasing health care costs and threatening the financial security of hospitals.
With the departure of Gov. Kevin Stitt, we may hear less about the effort to become a “Top 10” state, but the compassion and kindness called for in the “Oklahoma Standard” should remain a goal worthy of keeping.
Numbers of the Week
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142,850 – The number of adults on SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, who are aged, blind, or disabled. While most will likely be exempt from new work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks and uncertainty about what documentation will be required to prove an exemption could make it harder to maintain coverage. [Oklahoma Health Care Authority]
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$17.1 billion – The collective federal student loan debt owed by Oklahoma borrowers. About 16.1 percent of Oklahoma adults have federal student loans, although the average balance per borrower is 15.5 percent below the national average. [Education Data Initiative]
- 22.2% – Percentage of registered voters in Oklahoma who cast ballots during the Aug. 25 statewide election, which included two state questions and primary runoffs. State Question 846 received the highest vote total with about 535,000 ballots cast, while there are more than 2.4 million registered voters in Oklahoma. [Oklahoma Election Board]
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62% – Percentage of rural hospitals in Oklahoma that are at risk of closing due to financial challenges. A July 2026 report found 45 Oklahoma hospitals at risk of closing, with 18 hospitals (25%) at immediate risk of closing. [Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform]
What We’re Reading
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Medicaid in Oklahoma: Understanding how SoonerCare works, who it’s for, and how it’s funded: Medicaid is a pillar of Oklahoma’s health care infrastructure: nearly one in four Oklahomans has health insurance through SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. In this primer, we explore the basics of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, including who is eligible, and how it operates, how it is funded and how providers are reimbursed through its managed care program, SoonerSelect. [Healthy Minds Policy Initiative]
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What Comes Next for Student Loan Policy?: Over the past six years, the federal student loan program has been substantially altered by pandemic and policy changes, disrupting payments and creating confusion for borrowers. These changes include regulatory and statutory reforms that have dramatically altered student loan access, repayment, and forgiveness options for borrowers. As these policy changes phase out and phase in, researchers, advocates, and policymakers should consider and study these effects and other possible reforms that might be necessary. [Urban Institute]
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5 Quick Steps To Protect Your Right To Vote: As misinformation and confusion about election integrity continue to spread, citizens can work to strengthen American democracy by focusing on what matters most—that individuals are ready to vote. [Center for American Progress]
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Why Rural Hospitals Are Facing a Funding Crisis — and How It Could Get Worse: With hospital financing largely tailored to urban contexts, a growing number of rural hospitals are closing their doors, leaving many rural residents without a place to go for care. Even the hospitals that manage to stay open are cutting critical services to make ends meet. Beyond creating barriers for patients, hospital closures worsen workforce shortages as physicians leave the community for employment. Other types of care facilities, like community health centers, are left to pick up the slack, but they can’t offer the same services as a hospital and may face their own financial challenges. And as demand for care rises in the area, so do prices at remaining hospitals. [The Commonwealth Fund]
