Articles
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Health Care
Officials confirm: Many uninsured already receive care through Indian Health Service
After weeks of speculation, officials confirmed that one-in-10 uninsured Oklahomans today can access free health care treatment through the Indian Health Service system and various tribal facilities.Ray Carter | September 26, 2019
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Health Care
Medicaid expansion wouldn’t cover Oklahoma children
If Oklahoma expanded Medicaid, hundreds of thousands of able-bodied, working-age adults could sign up for Medicaid. No expansion dollars would go towards needy Oklahoma children on Medicaid now.Kaitlyn Finley | September 23, 2019
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Health Care
Hospital official urges support for controversial ‘fee’
During a recent meeting of the Healthcare Working Group, hospital officials urged policymakers to preserve a “provider tax” to obtain federal Medicaid funding. But that program and others like it have been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike as a “scam,” and one legislative leader noted federal reform may require meaningful changes to the program.Ray Carter | September 23, 2019
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Health Care
Officials say Medicaid harms hospital finances, then seek its expansion anyway
Hospital officials urged members of the bicameral Healthcare Working Group to add up to 628,000 able-bodied adults to Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, even though they said they lose money serving Medicaid patients, the program does not guarantee patients access to treatment, and Medicaid effectively raises the cost of private insurance.Ray Carter | September 19, 2019
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Health Care
Expert: To improve health, improve education
If lawmakers want to improve health outcomes in Oklahoma, one way to generate significant progress is to improve education outcomes, one expert recently told members of the legislative Healthcare Working Group.Ray Carter | September 6, 2019
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Health Care
Medicaid expansion could shift some federal costs to Oklahoma
Members of the legislative Healthcare Working Group learned Wednesday that one part of Medicaid expansion would involve the federal government offloading costs onto state taxpayers.Ray Carter | September 5, 2019
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Health Care
Hospitals sue patients despite insurance, Medicaid coverage
Hospitals in Oklahoma and elsewhere are under fire for suing patients over unpaid medical bills. Oklahoma hospital officials have suggested Medicaid expansion will reduce those lawsuits. But experts say many people being sued by hospitals today have private insurance or are already on Medicaid.Ray Carter | August 30, 2019
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Does Oklahoma’s uninsured rate reflect reality?
Officially, 14 percent of Oklahomans are uninsured. But one Senate leader questions whether that statistic reflects reality because it excludes a significant number of people: those who receive care through Indian Health Service facilities or other tribal government programs.Ray Carter | August 28, 2019
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Health Care
Medicaid expansion touted as boon for ex-convicts
When advocates discuss expanding Oklahoma’s Medicaid welfare program, they typically suggest beneficiaries will be financially struggling individuals. But this week’s meeting of the legislative Healthcare Working Group focused on a very different group of expansion beneficiaries: People who have just re-entered society after being convicted of crimes that sent them to prison.Ray Carter | August 22, 2019
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Health Care
Oklahoma officials prepare for federal Medicaid cuts
In the last few years, the federal match for state dollars spent on Medicaid in Oklahoma has increased by a dramatic rate. But officials don’t expect that to last, and are preparing for future cuts in federal funding.Ray Carter | August 19, 2019