Health Care Policy | Public Radio Tulsa

State Lawmaker Takes Shot At Stopping Stitt's Move To Outsource Management Of Medicaid

By Matt Trotter • Apr 7, 2021

A state lawmaker who vowed to fight Gov. Kevin Stitt’s plan to let for-profit companies manage Oklahoma’s expanding Medicaid program took action on Wednesday.

Rep. Marcus McEntire (R-Duncan) amended Senate Bill 131, which dealt with dialysis, to instead require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to oversee services to thousands of newly eligible enrollees starting July 1.

Integris Executive Who Saw Iowa Medicaid Privatization Tells Lawmakers It's 'Difficult' Change

By Matt Trotter • Feb 8, 2021

An executive at Oklahoma’s largest health care system told Oklahoma lawmakers he’s wary of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s current plan to privatize the state’s Medicaid program.

Oklahoma Chooses Vendors For $2B Partial Privatization Of Medicaid

By Catherine Sweeney & Kassie McClung | The Frontier • Jan 29, 2021

State officials announced the winners of up to $2.1 billion in health care contracts on Friday, a major milestone in implementing Oklahoma’s hotly debated privatized Medicaid program.

Four private health insurance companies will handle much of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program starting in October: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma; Humana Healthy Horizons; Oklahoma Complete Health, which is a subsidiary of managed care giant Centene; and United Healthcare.

Board Approves Oklahoma Health Care Authority Spending Up To $2.1B On Medicaid Outsourcing

By Matt Trotter • Jan 26, 2021

Governor Kevin Stitt’s plan to outsource management of Oklahoma’s expanded Medicaid program to a for-profit company cleared a procedural hurdle on Tuesday.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority Board approved on Tuesday spending up to $2.1 billion on contracts next fiscal year with managed care organizations, or MCOs. The 6–3 vote came after public comment from representatives from a handful of health organizations, all of them opposed.

Considering Oklahoma State Question 802: The Medicaid Expansion Initiative

By Rich Fisher • Jun 25, 2020

On this edition of ST, we're talking about State Question 802, the Medicaid expansion initiative that Oklahoma voters will cast ballots for or against on Tuesday of next week. This measure, per ballotpedia.org, would "expand Medicaid in Oklahoma under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. It would provide Medicaid coverage for certain low-income adults between 18 and 65 with incomes at or below 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

A Chat with the OK Policy's New Executive Director, Ahniwake Rose

By Rich Fisher • Oct 29, 2019

On this edition of ST, we get to know Ahniwake Rose, the incoming executive director of the nonprofit, non-partisan Oklahoma Policy Institute (a/k/a OK Policy). Rose, originally from Oklahoma, has spent nearly 20 years working at the intersection of public policy and nonprofit management. Previously, she was the Deputy Director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), a national organization serving the interests of tribal governments and communities.

Developing a Culture of Health: A Chat with Lori Melichar of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

By Rich Fisher • Oct 14, 2019

Our guest on ST Medical Monday is Lori Melichar, a labor economist with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Per the RWJF website, Lori is "a senior director [who] focuses on discovering, exploring, and learning from cutting-edge ideas with the potential to help create a Culture of Health. She is also the host of the Foundation's Pioneering Ideas podcast.