Health Care
Kaitlyn Finley | September 28, 2020
How many Oklahomans are enrolled in Medicaid?
Kaitlyn Finley
The number of people enrolled in Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare, has increased substantially over the last two decades.
Medicaid is a medical welfare program set up by the federal government but run by the states. It is funded in part by the federal government and in part by the state government.
According to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, enrollment in this state medical welfare program has more than doubled in the last 20 years—increasing from 490,282 in 1999 to 998,209 in 2019.
That means that more than 25 percent of all Oklahomans receive Medicaid services.
Total Medicaid enrollment in 2020 is likely to be higher due to economic fallout related to the coronavirus and the decline in the oil and gas industry.
Kaitlyn Finley
Policy Research Fellow
Kaitlyn Finley currently serves as a policy research fellow for OCPA with a focus on healthcare and welfare policy. Kaitlyn graduated from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Previously, she served as a summer intern at OCPA and spent time in Washington D.C. interning for the Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.