In Oklahoma City hundreds of people supporting expansion of
health care coverage rallied Wednesday at the state Capital.
Supporters want lawmakers to accept federal dollars to
provide health care coverage to more people.
Supporters of Medicaid
expansion have also filed paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office
indicating they will circulate an initiative petition to get the issue on the
ballot.
Supporters carried signs that
read, “Expand Coverage Now,” and “ I rally
for rural Oklahoma.” A number of rural hospitals have closed.
For the past
seven years, Oklahoma has been among a dwindling number of states that refused
to bring federal tax dollars home and expand coverage, said David Blatt,
Oklahoma Policy Institute executive director.
The
consequences have been devastating, he said. Oklahoma continues to have among
the highest rates of uninsured in the nation,
Blatt said. One in six adults
don’t have coverage, he said.
Expansion states have seen the biggest drop in their uninsured
rates, Blatt said. Families in expansion states have more access to affordable care
and more financial security, he said.
Expansion is good for the economy he said. States that have expanded
coverage have less uncompensated care costs, which can mean the difference between
survival and bankruptcy, Blatt said.
“Every one of these 36 states knows
that a nine-to-one federal match to expand health insurance coverage is a great
deal that is in their state’s interest,” Blatt said. “The fact is, Oklahoma has
waited far too long to get on board with expansion, but better late than
never.”
House
Minority Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said that if Oklahoma does not expand
coverage by 2022, the state will have lost out on $8.6 billion in federal
funding.
“If we
are going to operate Oklahoma like a business, a nine-to-one return on
investment is a no-brainer,” Virgin said.
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