Fallin: Oklahoma Continues To Explore ObamaCare Alternatives
Oklahoma’s federal health care concerns remain unresolved
BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Monday, June 24, 2013
One year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that most of the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, Oklahoma hasn’t resolved some basic issues concerning the federal health-care law.
But pending decisions could refocus the issue in the state, especially questions of access to coverage for the state’s poorest citizens and federal rules to enforce the law for state businesses.
“In Oklahoma, we are exploring our alternatives, including seeking an extension of Insure Oklahoma,” Gov. Mary Fallin said. “It’s particularly frustrating that the president continues to not only force the ACA onto states but is seeking to dismantle a successful program like Insure Oklahoma that is providing insurance to thousands of Oklahomans.”
Since June 26, 2012, when the high court ruled on a 5-4 vote that most of the 2,409-page “Obamacare” law was constitutional, much of the debate in Oklahoma has been over two issues: expansion of Medicaid to cover most poor Oklahomans and state participation in a health insurance exchange to extend federal subsidies for private health insurance coverage to members of the middle class.