Supporters of an effort to let voters decide to expand Medicaid will turn in their signatures to the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday.

Amber England, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 802 campaign, said supporters obtained more than the 177,958 signatures needed to ask voters to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to expand Medicaid.

“We are confident a number we turn in sends a message loud and clear that Oklahomans want to decide this issue,” England said.

The issue will be on a ballot in 2020, she predicted.

Gov. Kevin Stitt can put it on the general election ballot or a special election ballot, she said.

“If Medicaid expansion passes in the state of Oklahoma, it will deliver health care to 200,000 Oklahomans that go without coverage now and bring back over $1 billion a year of taxpayers’ dollars from (Washington) D.C. to invest back into communities,” she said. “It can help save our rural hospitals, and Oklahomans will be able to decide their own health care.”

She said she expects a full media campaign to educate voters about the need for Medicaid expansion.

The effort already withstood one legal challenge but could draw a challenge to the signatures and to the ballot language, she said.

About OrionNet Systems

OrionNet is an Oklahoma small business founded in 2001. OrionNet has designed, developed and supported applications created both for the client-server and web environments, as well as developing, marketing and supporting a commercial application for the counseling centers industry.

Visit the OrionNet Systems’ website, www.iorion.com, or their social media pages, https://twitter.com/ThinkHealth & https://www.facebook.com/pages/OrionNet-Systems/139352156150090 for more information.

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