AP: No Political Will for Medicaid Expansion in Oklahoma
No political will for Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma
By SEAN MURPHY
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – While some Republican-led states are exploring whether to expand Medicaid to include more low-income residents, Oklahoma’s GOP leaders remain steadfastly opposed to the idea.
The head of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority – the agency that runs the state’s Medicaid program called SoonerCare – says there is no effort underway to seek a Medicaid expansion or even develop an Oklahoma-specific plan for seeking available funding.
Indiana recently received approval to expand Medicaid through a state-run program, making it the 28th state to do so and the 10th with a Republican in the governor’s mansion. An expansion proposal endorsed by Tennessee’s Republican governor was shot down by the GOP Legislature last week, but Arkansas’ Republican-controlled Legislature last week agreed to continue that state’s program pending a task force review.
But in Oklahoma, even Republicans who support expansion, arguing it would infuse billions of federal dollars into the state’s health economy and help provide health care to some of the state’s poorest residents, say the political will simply doesn’t exist in the GOP-controlled Legislature.