Healthcare Authority To Lose $47M In Proposed Cuts
Oklahoma Health Care Authority funds shrink under Gov. Fallin’s plan
Gov. Mary Fallin has proposed a 5 percent reduction in state appropriations to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the agency that oversees the Medicaid program.
BY SEAN MURPHY
Gov. Mary Fallin’s plan to cut state spending on health care is expected to result in fewer benefits and a reduction in reimbursement rates to doctors that provide medical services to the poor.
Fallin has proposed a 5 percent reduction in state appropriations to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the agency that oversees the Medicaid program. That amounts to a $47 million cut to the agency’s budget at a time when the federal health care law is driving tens of thousands of low-income Oklahomans into the program.
“The problems with Medicaid are creating a perfect storm for the Health Care Authority, because at a time they have to operate on less money, they’re having to serve more and more people,” said Rep. Doug Cox, a Republican and emergency room physician from Grove who leads the House committee overseeing Medicaid spending.
The Health Care Authority was requesting $144 million in new funding from the Legislature this year, a large portion of which is to cover an increase in the number of Medicaid-eligible Oklahomans who are now applying for coverage because of the new health insurance mandate. The federal government also is requiring Oklahoma to increase its portion of Medicaid matching funds because of improvements in the state’s economy.