Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oklahoma Voters To Decide Fate Of Medicaid Expansion
Politico: Voters In Deep-Red Oklahoma Weigh Medicaid Expansion As Virus Cases Climb
Voters in deep-red Oklahoma this week could order Medicaid expansion for at least 200,000 poor adults, defying state and Trump administration officials fighting to limit the Obamacare program. If voters approve a ballot measure on Tuesday, Oklahoma would become the first state to broadly expand government-backed health insurance to many of its poorest residents since the beginning of a pandemic that has stripped many people of coverage. At the same time, that could scuttle the Trump administration’s efforts to make Oklahoma a test case for its plan to transform the entitlement program into a block grant. (Roubein and Goldberg, 6/29)
AP: Oklahoma Voters To Decide Whether To Expand Medicaid
Oklahoma is one of 14 states, along with neighboring Texas and Kansas, that have not expanded Medicaid under the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and his predecessor, Mary Fallin, both have opposed expansion, citing uncertainty about future costs for the state. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has projected that about 215,000 residents would qualify for a Medicaid expansion, for a total annual cost of about $1.3 billion. The estimated state share would be about $164 million. But those numbers could be considerably higher given the number of Oklahomans who have lost their jobs and work-related health insurance because of the economic shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.(6/30)
