Articles
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Health Care, Law & Principles
Stitt acts after Oklahoma Senate stalls immigration-verification bills
Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order requiring Oklahoma agencies to tighten immigration-status checks for welfare programs. The order mirrors legislation that passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.Ray Carter | May 7, 2026
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Health Care
As Medicaid expansion supporters cite poor results, lawmakers weigh reforms
Five years after Oklahoma expanded Medicaid to cover able-bodied adults, costs continue to climb sharply. State lawmakers are increasingly questioning whether the program has delivered on promises of improved health outcomes and stronger hospital finances.Ray Carter | April 15, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
OCPA: Time to send Medicaid expansion to voters
With the cost of Medicaid expansion exploding, lawmakers should send two state questions to voters that would allow for financial adjustment when needed.Staff | April 8, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Reform bills advance as Medicaid expansion threatens Oklahoma budget
With Medicaid expansion costs ballooning and warnings that a future shift in the federal match could saddle Oklahoma with an extra $1 billion a year, a state Senate committee has overwhelmingly approved two measures that would let voters reconsider the 2020 expansion.Ray Carter | April 7, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Oklahoma budget leaders say Medicaid expansion threatens school funding
Oklahoma lawmakers say the soaring price tag of Medicaid expansion for able-bodied adults has become a budgetary time bomb. Two proposed ballot measures would give lawmakers room to reform the program.Ray Carter | April 6, 2026
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Health Care, Good Government
Oklahoma lawmakers advance measures allowing voters to revisit Medicaid expansion
Oklahoma lawmakers have advanced two measures that would give voters a chance to revisit the Obamacare Medicaid expansion as surging program costs threaten to squeeze out funding for other services. Opponents argue lawmakers should instead raise taxes.Ray Carter | March 26, 2026
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Health Care
Medicaid-expansion follies show need for initiative-petition reform
Approved by a razor-thin margin in 2020 through the initiative-petition process, Medicaid expansion added hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults to Oklahoma’s welfare rolls and helped trigger a roughly half-billion-dollar budget shortfall.Jonathan Small | March 16, 2026
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Health Care
Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion has turned into a money pit
Five years after Oklahoma expanded Medicaid, none of the promised benefits have materialized. Rural hospitals aren’t thriving, state finances aren’t in a stronger position, and health outcomes haven’t improved.Jonathan Small | March 2, 2026
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Oklahoma’s Medicaid bill comes due
The Obamacare Medicaid expansion was sold as a program fueled by “free” federal dollars, but Oklahoma is now seeing the real bill. Spending at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority has climbed by nearly $3.5 billion since 2020.Curtis Shelton | February 18, 2026
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Health Care
Hilbert bill blocking Medicaid for illegals clears first hurdle
Lawmakers have advanced legislation that would bar illegal immigrants from accessing Medicaid benefits by requiring the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to verify every applicant’s legal status through the federal SAVE system before approving coverage.Ray Carter | February 11, 2026