Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt at his 2021 State of the State address.
From Day 1 of this year’s legislative session, the state’s executive branch has been hammering its dedication to usher in SoonerSelect.
Under that plan, instead of having Oklahoma’s Medicaid agency pay providers directly for their care, the state would shift about $2 billion in health spending to four private insurance companies, giving them a set amount for every client. Those companies would then coordinate care for nearly a million low-income Oklahomans, who are covered by SoonerCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
Here’s the idea: Insurance companies make more money when their clients are healthier and need less medical care. So they’re incentivized to improve health outcomes. They also have more flexibility in how they can spend on health, because state Medicaid agencies have stricter rules. Supporters often offer this example. A member with a heart condition has their air conditioner go out, and th
The City Sentinel
April 18, 2021
By Darla Shelden
By Darla Shelden, City Sentinel Reporter OKLAHOMA CITY– During April LifeShare of Oklahoma and the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City are partnering for the purpose.
By Staff Report
The City Sentinel, Staff Report OKLAHOMA CITY Members of the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus and the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus recognized the Norman High School girl’s basketball team on the.
Stitt declares end to COVID-19 restrictions By: Janice Francis-Smith The Journal Record March 11, 2021
Gov. Kevin Stitt said his administration made all the right decisions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Janice Francis-Smith)
OKLAHOMA CITY – All restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic will be removed with the executive order Gov. Kevin Stitt is expected to release Friday.
“The standard for normal cannot be zero cases,” Stitt said during a press conference held Thursday at the Oklahoma state Capitol. “In Oklahoma the standard for normal is freedom. The freedom to worship, the freedom to go to work and earn a paycheck, the freedom to visit your loved ones in nursing homes, the freedom to send your kids to school in person, and the freedom to protect your family however you see fit.”
House Bill 1091, by Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers Oklahoma s Medicaid program, to spend all appropriated funds "in accordance with legislative intent"
By Catherine Sweeney & Kassie McClung | The Frontier
• Jan 29, 2021
State officials announced the winners of up to $2.1 billion in health care contracts on Friday, a major milestone in implementing Oklahoma’s hotly debated privatized Medicaid program.
Four private health insurance companies will handle much of Oklahoma’s Medicaid program starting in October: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma; Humana Healthy Horizons; Oklahoma Complete Health, which is a subsidiary of managed care giant Centene; and United Healthcare.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has made partially privatizing Medicaid one of his administration’s top priorities. Using a policy called the managed care model, Oklahoma will begin paying private health insurance companies to coordinate much of the state’s Medicaid program, known as SoonerCare. Up to 75% of the state’s Medicaid enrollees will work with the private companies. That includes the anticipated 200,000 working adults who will newly qua