Several projects are in the works for Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden that officials say will give people renewed reasons for visiting. Apart from three new animal habitat construction projects, the zoo is in the early planning phase of a big new exhibit. “We have what seems like a whole slew of projects […]
expansion
Posted inFood & Drink
Golden Phoenix sets it sights on expansion
Plans for the expansion include a three-story building with private dining rooms, party rooms and retail space.
Posted inNews
Help Oklahoma City grow with planokc workshops
Studies shot that the city’s population is on target to expand from 600,000 to 900,000 residents over the next four decades, planokc organizers said in a media release. The workshops will offer ideas on how the area could accommodate the growth, including a projected 170,000 jobs. Feedback gleaned from these workshops will be used along […]
Posted inNews
The problem is cost, not coverage
According to Obamacare, the federal government would cover 90 percent of the cost of such an expansion long-term. States would be required to pay the difference. When passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama, the Obamacare Medicaid expansion was mandatory, but in a 7-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court made the Medicaid […]
Posted inNews
None dare call it ‘expansion’
Credit: Brad Gregg The Affordable Care Act, you might recall, allows states to get federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage for people earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Such a move would provide health insurance for almost 200,000 uninsured Oklahomans, but Gov. Mary Fallin rejected the federal dollars late last year. […]
Posted inNews
Right-thinking governors
Democrats have been arguing for quite a while that Medicaid expansion is the only fiscally responsible path forward. Now their argument has been endorsed by Kasich, who has impeccable conservative credentials, since he is a former chairman of the House Budget Committee and a former Fox News analyst. Kasich built his political identity arguing for […]
Posted inNews
Coverage controversy
Protesters push for Medicaid expansion at a Feb. 5 rally at the state Capitol. Credit: Mark Hancock Oklahoma currently ranks near the bottom among states in terms of wellness. Both opponents and advocates of an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program say action is required to improve the state’s health. Fallin and other state leaders […]
Posted inNews
Health matters
Dr.Fred Loper examines a patient at the Good Shepherd clinic. Credit: Mark Hancock “The end goal is for each person with health care needs to be directed or become a patient at the most appropriate place for them,” said Pam Cross, executive director of The Health Alliance for the Uninsured, a local nonprofit. The network […]
Posted inNews
Fallin fails
In 2007, Fallin voted against raising the minimum wage above $5.15 per hour, where it had been for 10 years. Then she opposed House Resolution 4, which gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prescription drug prices. In other words, she voted to turn pricing of our prescription drugs over to pharmaceutical […]
Posted inNews
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. […]