With the threat of Medicaid expansion looming, Oklahoma
lawmakers announced Monday that they’re forming a bipartisan working group to
develop their own plan to increase health care and insurance coverage.
House
Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said in a statement that the health care group
would bring everyone together — patients, policy experts, providers, insurers,
medical facilities and state officials.
“Health
care is a very complex issue, and there is no cookie-cutter approach that is
going to drive down costs, improve care and increase access,” McCall said. “It
is going to take a comprehensive, multifaceted approach that considers not just
what is wrong with the system, but also what is working, and also what has
worked and not worked in other states.”
He said
the discussion must “include everything, not just Medicaid expansion.”
The
announcement comes as a citizen-led ballot initiative plans to start collecting
signatures Wednesday in an effort to get Medicaid expansion before voters on an
upcoming ballot. The group’s effort would expand coverage to nearly 200,000
low-income Oklahomans and bring billions in federal health care dollars back to
the state.
Amber
England, a spokeswoman for Oklahomans Decide Healthcare and Yes on 802, said
the coalition is optimistic to see what comes out of the working group. She
said she’s grateful that there seems to be a “greater sense of urgency” to
tackle the issue.
Amber
England, a spokeswoman for Oklahomans Decide Healthcare and Yes on 802, said
the coalition is optimistic to see what comes out of the working group. She
said she’s grateful that there seems to be a “greater sense of urgency” to
tackle the issue.
“The
Legislature has had almost a decade to come up with a plan that would expand
Medicaid and cover almost 200,000 more Oklahomans,” she said. “They haven’t
been able to come up with a plan yet.”
Her
group will continue to pursue their measure until there’s a plan signed into
law.
“It will
not distract us from actually providing Oklahomans a chance to decide for
themselves,” England said. “I think you’ve seen in the past that the
Legislature has punted on many of these issues and hasn’t been able to come up
with a compromise.”
The
group has until Oct. 28 to collect 178,000 signatures, she said.
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