In like manner, I don’t recall Gov. Mary Fallin receiving open records requests from curious journalists when taxes were hiked in 2011 to prop up LBJ’s Medicaid program in Oklahoma. It was only when she decided in 2012 not to expand Medicaid that the watchdogs started barking. In any case, Gov. Fallin should be applauded […]
affordable care act
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Decisions of politics and compassion
We know what is causing the pain. Jane has a bad gallbladder that is full of stones — easy to fix. In the hospital Friday morning for surgery, home Friday afternoon, back at work Monday morning. Like hundreds of thousands of hardworking Oklahomans, Jane has no insurance and no way to pay for the surgery. […]
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Medi-can’t
However, with Gov. Mary Fallin’s announcement last month that the state would not expand Medicaid, George will have to stick with her current plan for a while longer. That plan: Don’t get sick. “I tried with DHS (Oklahoma Department of Human Services) to get some kind of medical (insurance), but they turned me down because […]
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A shameful turn
I would love to see the estimated 150,000 uninsured Oklahomans who could have access to health insurance through Medicaid expansion arrive on the steps of the state Capitol for Fallin to meet firsthand. Let her try to explain how it is reasonable and humane for them to remain uninsured in order for her to score […]
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Health insurance? Fooey!
First, the Republican governor delayed implementing aspects of the ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, in hopes that it would be rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. When that plan failed, she and others counted on the election of a Republican president to push its repeal. That plan didn’t work out so well, either. Finally, it’s […]
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Countering contraceptives
“Hobby Lobby must violate its faith and pay for abortion pills” shouted a news release following the judge’s decision. But the truth of the matter is a bit more complex. Are emergency contraceptives tantamount to abortion? Medical experts believe they prevent ovulation or fertilization. It is not impossible that they could prevent a fertilized egg […]
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Wait for it
Matt Robison Credit: Mark Hancock Ironically, the need for state development and control was Oklahoma’s rationale for turning down a $54 million Early Innovator Grant in 2011 — the highest federal grant awarded to only seven states viewed as “leading the way on building a better health insurance marketplace.” Yet action on a state-created exchange […]
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Getting real about Obamacare
The CBO actually reduced its estimated net cost to $1.1 trillion, “about $50 billion less than the agencies’ March 2011 estimate.” The initial estimate ($940 billion) covers 2010-2019, while the $1.76 trillion gross cost is for the 11-year period from 2012-2022, which includes three more years of full program costs (that start in 2014). For […]
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New Yorkers think we’re interesting!
Maybe those damn Yankees find it interesting that our state has one of the nation’s most dismal percentages Credit: Brad Gregg of citizens lacking health insurance. Perhaps those highfalutin elitists think it’s ironic that most Oklahomans despise Obamacare almost as much as they despise vegetables and cedar trees. Whatever the reason, The New York Times […]
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Happy Canadians
Brake doesn’t mention that the Canadian dog will have to come up with thousands of dollars for the hip replacement while the human hip replacement is covered by the government program. Overall, the average Canadian is quite happy with the Canadian system. Brake could also have told us that every year thousands of Americans go […]