Policy Matters: Foot dragging over Medicaid expansion

Listen to this article

Want to know how a friend or loved one can apply for health care coverage when Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion takes effect this summer? You are not alone. And the Oklahoma Health Care Authority – the folks who hold the keys to the application process – aren’t saying. For Capitol watchers, this is just more of the same as OHCA, Gov. Stitt and other state officials have been seeking to limit enrollments in this vital program.

As of today, Oklahoma is 98 days away from the July 1 deadline for expansion enrollment. Private entities statewide (medical providers, nonprofits, churches, and other community groups) stand at the ready to help spread the message to help an estimated 200,000 Oklahomans connect to the health care they need. We are hearing OHCA plans a social media campaign in July, but nothing about communicating or coordinating with the many Oklahoma organizations who work directly with our state’s most vulnerable populations.

The agency also may not be taking full steps to allow Oklahomans to apply for coverage in advance so that they could be in queue once expansion enrollment begins. Presumably that date is July 1, or it might be sooner. Who knows? Again, OHCA isn’t saying.

To help fill the communication gap, the Oklahoma Policy Institute and other organizations has kicked off a Countdown to Care series to start raising awareness. During our kickoff event, we heard from an Oklahoma City attorney who credits Medicaid for saving her life, a business leader who noted the workforce development advantage when residents have improved health outcomes, a representative from state food banks who said access to health care helps address some of the multi-dimensional causes of hunger, and a community faith leader who reminded us that we are called to help our neighbors in need. We will be working with additional partners in the next three months to help raise awareness of the importance of this health care coverage.

Oklahoma has one of the highest uninsured rates in the U.S., and the data consistently show that our friends and neighbors are far less healthy than residents in other states. We don’t have to accept these dismal health outcomes.

Expanding Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma stems from the belief that our friends and neighbors should be able to visit a doctor or even refill a prescription without risking financial ruin. Creating health care opportunities should be celebrated, not met with deafening silence.

Ahniwake Rose is executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute.