Sound familiar? Under the Affordable Care Act, states will be given an opportunity to opt into an expanded provision of Medicaid, effective 2014. This provision in the ACA is of vital interest for Oklahoma. It means 200,000 more Oklahomans will be eligible, if they enroll, to receive health insurance (about 29 percent of Oklahomans are […]
Commentary
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Disaster is ahead for Obamacare
It will cost more than predicted. Despite 20 new taxes totaling $575 billion, the Congressional Budget Office has now projected total Obamacare costs through 2022 at $1.76 trillion, about twice the initial 10-year estimate. And that is still an optimistic figure. Medicare is instructive here: In 1965 when it was first passed, Medicare hospital insurance […]
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Examining child trauma
Amber England The Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition, a statewide initiative of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, is committed to fighting for policies that address the barriers the state faces in making healthy choices. Starting an important conversation about child trauma and how its effects rob our ability to shape a healthier future for Oklahoma […]
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Holding our biased breath
But as the company sells off billions in assets to pay $32.6 billion in “spending obligations” (as The Wall Street Journal recently reported), charges of crony capitalism abound and its CEO fends off charges of insider dealing, local defenders of the embattled energy giant have come forth in droves. Some even contend we are the […]
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Shining light on the legislative process
With the legislative session over, it’s a good time to think about ways to make the next one better. Specifically, I’m concerned with making the legislative process more transparent. Much has improved over the five years since I’ve been covering the state Capitol, but much more can — and should — be done. For starters, […]
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Oklahoma and Medicaid expansion
Based on the court’s ruling, Oklahoma now could choose not to expand Medicaid to cover more people without insurance living below the poverty line. But such a choice would squander the chance for as many as 180,000 struggling Oklahomans to get health insurance coverage while leaving hospitals and other health care providers on the hook […]
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The price of modernizing alcohol laws
This will mark the third major statewide vote on liquor law reform since the national repeal of Prohibition in 1933. In the first major statewide vote, Oklahoma swiftly (26 years) followed up on that 21st amendment to the U.S. Constitution by repealing prohibition here in 1959. Twenty-five years later Oklahomans allowed the sale of liquor […]
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Cutting taxes is not an answer
I wish those fortunate enough to be able to pay taxes would reflect on public services that are often taken for granted but make for a civilized society: police and fire protection; sewage treatment and water treatment facilities; public schools and teachers; family services for lives that have run off the rails. Tens of millions […]
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Myriad Gardens is a dream come true
Now, after more than 40 years, I can breathe normally, thanks to the vision of another energy executive, Larry Nichols, whose determined efforts have allowed Mr. McGee’s audacious plan to be realized. Oklahomans are not by nature or history a patient people, and support for the realization of the vast potential of the gardens has […]
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Changes at DHS threaten progress
This legislative session the bulk of our work focused on child welfare reform: demanding change at the state Department of Human Services to better protect Oklahoma children in foster care and creating better opportunities for children of incarcerated parents. We demanded pay increases for foster care families, lower case loads for child welfare workers doing […]