OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The federal government is poised to let the state operate its Insure Oklahoma program for another year while it considers expanding Medicaid and taking a greater amount of federal money to insure poor people.
A federal official with knowledge of the arrangement said Friday a waiver for Insure Oklahoma would be for one year. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made.
Governor Fallin has sought ways to rescue the Insure Oklahoma program, which provides both individual and employer-sponsored health insurance plans to about 30,000 low-income Oklahomans.
Republican legislators favor Insure Oklahoma program over Medicaid expansion because individual recipients pay modest co-pays, with the rest of the premiums covered by employer payments in some cases, along with state and federal matching funds.