Articles
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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
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Health Care
Federal government quashes states’ plans to reform Medicaid
In recent years, both the Trump and Obama administrations have rejected states’ proposals to reform their Medicaid programs and have scaled back federal Medicaid matching dollars.Kaitlyn Finley | August 16, 2019
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Health Care
Health care committee leaders say group’s work is bigger than Medicaid
The leaders of a legislative working group examining Medicaid expansion say the group’s goal is to dramatically change Oklahomans’ health outcomes—and concerns about government expense should be put aside for now.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019
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Health Care
Lawmakers told behaviors to blame for most of Oklahoma’s health problems
Members of the Healthcare Working Group, a bicameral special committee studying potential expansion of Medicaid to able-bodied adults, were told Wednesday that personal behaviors are more to blame for many of Oklahoma’s low health rankings than a lack of insurance coverage.Ray Carter | August 15, 2019
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Health Care
Stitt continues to reshape government leadership
Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Monday that Kevin Corbett will be the new director of the state’s Medicaid agency, continuing Stitt’s practice of prioritizing individuals with private-sector business expertise when making appointments.Ray Carter | August 7, 2019