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The Madill Record

Oklahoma medicaid expansion reconsidered in new petition
By M. Scott Carter and
Madison Connell
Special to the Record and
ONF Intern
A few years back, in 2012,
then-Governor Mary Fallin
said ‘no’ to the idea of expanding
Medicaid coverage. Expanding
Medicaid, the governor said,
would cost the state $475 mil-
lion by 2020 and those expenses
would only increase.
Additionally, Fallin said she
expected the federal govern-
ment, at some point, to rein
back the program and make the
states pay more. The governor’s
Republican supporters praised
her for standing tough. Progres-
sives criticized the governor’s
decision.
Mandated under the original
Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act, the law required
states, beginning in January
aid expansion continues.
This year, following the elec-
tion of Republican Governor
Kevin Stitt, many advocates
of Medicaid expansion believed
Stitt might move in their direc-
tion. And earlier this year, Stitt
hinted that he would.
During an Associated Press
forum in January, Stitt said he
was open to the idea of Medicaid
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ity for the state.
“I’m going to be very careful
where I don’t put Oklahoma
in a tough situation ... where
we’re stuck providing more
government services and a
billion-dollar price tag,” Stitt
said in January.
“We’ve got to be very careful,
but absolutely.”
By February, though, things
had changed. Stitt used his
state of the state speech squelch
talk of Medicaid expansion.
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don’t expect everyone to have
the healthcare they’re going
to need.’”
Gordon related it to the
concept of free transportation.
“It’s kind of like using trans-
portation loosely. Everyone is
going to get transportation, but
now everyone gets a bicycle,”
he said.
However, Gordon believes
that anything that can pro-
vide some level of healthcare
to his patients and to the rest
of Marshall County is better
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citizens that are not insured.
Proposals debated
Since then, pressure to ex-
pand Medicaid has increased.
Today, Oklahoma’s rank as the
second most uninsured state in
the nation has become a central
theme for those seeking to ex-
pand coverage.
a bipartisan health care work-
ing group.
Following the passage of an
initiative petition legalizing
medical marijuana, state law-
makers formed a committee
to develop laws and rules to
implement the new law. Rep.
Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, said
a similar group could use the
same approach for Medicaid
expansion.
Other lawmakers are look-
ing at alternative proposals,
such as expanding the Insure
Oklahoma program, which
provides subsidies for private
health insurance plans.
One such proposal, authored
by Ada Senator Greg McCort-
ney, a Republican, would create
an Oklahoma Plan to expand
coverage.
McCortney’s bill, however,
failed. In addition, Democrats
in the legislature continue to
push the GOP controlled leg-
islature to do something.
House Minority leader Rep.
Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said
not accepting federal Medicaid
funds based on what might
happen in the future with
another governing body was a
ridiculous idea.
“If the governor is against
expanding Medicaid, he should
own it and offer a different vi-
sion for insuring the 200,000
Oklahomans that the expan-
sion would cover,” Virgin said
this spring.
With almost 600,000 Okla-
homans uninsured and many
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problems or already closing,
pressure to address the issue
of health care will continue to
grow. That message isn’t lost
on some lawmakers. Many
freshmen legislators, elected
on a centrist, pro-education
platform, know that Medicaid
expansion could quickly become
the next hot button issue of the
2020 campaign cycle.
And the time to act, one
legislator said, is now.
“We need to do something,”
said state Rep. Trey Caldwell,
R-Enid. “We need to be proac-
tive and not reactive.”
Caldwell said he supports
some type of Medicaid expan-
sion – but he wants any new
policy to be thoughtful and
well crafted.
“I think the best situation is
that we create a system where
we can apply for waivers. We
don’t want it to be like the early
version of medical marijuana,
where it was just a one-page
bill. We need to get out in front
of this thing.”

2014, to expand their Medicaid
systems to cover people younger
than 65 with income below 133
percent of the federal poverty
level.
However, a series of federal
“The estimated $150 million
price tag today for Oklahoma to
expand Medicaid could leave
us down the road fronting
more than $1 billion when the
government pulls back on its
commitment,” the governor
Custom
To get there, some support-
ers are following the playbook
used by advocates for medical
marijuana – the initiative and
referendum process.
In April, attorneys with
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down portions of the ACA,
including the clause that penal-
ized states for not expanding
Medicare. The resulting court
ruling allowed state govern-
ments to decide on a case-by-
said. “They’ve done it before,
and they will do it again.”
Marshall County Impact
In Marshall County alone,
the Census Bureau estimates
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an initiative petition that would
amend the state’s constitution
and put Medicaid expansion
to a public vote. Supporters
need to gather about 178,000
signatures to put the proposal

case basis.
Fallin said she was wor-
ried that Oklahoma would be
reliant on federal money “that
may or may not be available in
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problems facing the federal
government.”
Progressives countered that
the governor’s action would
leave thousands of Oklahomans
without health care coverage.
One group, the Oklahoma
Policy Institute, disputed Fal-
22.9 percent of citizens are un-
insured. Additionally, in 2013
through 2017, 21.5 percent of
citizens are disabled compared
to 11.5 percent of the rest of
Oklahoma, according to the
Census Bureau.
Ely Gordon, an internal
medicine and pediatrician in
Madill, worries about the pos-
sibility of Medicaid expansion.
His concern is that even though
Marshall County has a high
disabled population, because
Homes
on the ballot.
But the petition has drawn
opponents. It’s what’s on
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the conservative-leading think the Inside
tank the Oklahoma Council
for Public Affairs asked the
Oklahoma Supreme Court to
that Counts Design & Accents
overturn the petition and pre-
vent it from going to the ballot. 11464 Hwy 70 ~ Madill, OK
The group’s lawsuit said the
Medicaid expansion initiative (inside Landscape & More)
petition would “constitution-
alize a massive entitlement

lin’s cost estimates, releasing
a report which said Medicaid
expansion would ultimately
only cost the state between $28
and $37 million by 2020.
Fast forward seven years.
Barack Obama retired as presi-
dent and, even now, maintains
consistently high approval
rankings. Fallin, however,
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74 percent disapproval ranking
according to the data technol-
ogy company Morning Consult.
And the debate over Medic-
Marshall County has very few
specialists, most of the money
might go towards big cities,
like Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
As to the quality of care that
the expansion would provide,
Gordon is skeptical.
“When you’re a physician
you want to provide the patient
care every time,” said Gordon.
“But we have to be realistic
and think, where’s the money
coming from? And that’s where
the politician comes in and
says, ‘you want everyone to
have healthcare? Sure! But
817-932-0977
program” and would give the
federal government, not Okla-
homa, the authority to control
eligibility and the cost borne to
Oklahoma.
“There is no authority to www.custominteriorshomes.com
support states delegating core
legislative power to the federal
government,” the OCPA said.
“Chronic Knee Pain Gone In Weeks,
Lawsuits aside, public pres-
sure continues to build for some
form of Medicaid expansion.
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islative session, House Speaker
With Amazing New Technique.”
Charles McCall, a Republican
~Madill, OK. I’m going to ask time I’ve seen all kinds of knee “My knee started out hurting
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you a simple question. pain. for a few hours at a time, then
Sometimes it’s a young boy it just progressively worse. I tried

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