Obama Denies Extension Of Insure Oklahoma
Obama administration denies extension of Insure Oklahoma program for working poor
Patrick B. McGuigan, 08-May-2013
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Obama administration has denied the state of Oklahoma’s request to extend the life of Insure Oklahoma, a program of premium assistance benefitting the Sooner State’s working poor.
Cindy Mann, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Human Services, based in Baltimore, Maryland, delivered the death sentence to the Oklahoma program — created in 2004 by a popular vote, and fashioned by a bipartisan consensus – in a May 7 letter received by the state government on Tuesday afternoon.
Referencing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Mann wrote, “The new law will mean that an extension of the Insure Oklahoma program without any changes is not possible.”
In her letter, Mann contended the federal government is “committed to working with you on approaches that work for Oklahoma.” However, she continued, the SoonerCare section 1115 demonstration (No 11-@-00048/6) includes enrollment caps which “will not be approved.”