Lisa Morrow credit: Jordan Ensminger It’s not because she isn’t happy. The 45-year-old woman has severe dental problems, but being unemployed and without medical or dental insurance, her best option is not to show her teeth. In the meantime, she endures agonizing pain and depression. “My grandkids, they’ll be like, ‘Grandma, what happened to your […]
obamacare
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Playing snow day roulette
It seems our Republican “leadership” has opted for a similar strategy regarding the establishment of a health care exchange. Rather than taking federal funds to establish the exchange, the governor, under right-wing pressure and the hope that the U.S. Supreme Court would strike down the entire law, rejected the funds. This risky move did not […]
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Hyperbolic overdrive
Gov. Mary Fallin said, “Today’s decision highlights the importance of electing leaders who will work to repeal the federal health care law and replace it with meaningful reform focused on commonsense, market-based changes.” So what exactly is a “market-based” change? It’s as though Mary strung a bunch of big words together without any intention of […]
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LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette. com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact […]
Posted inNews
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette. com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact […]
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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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Exchanging control
Among the most immediate concerns is the state’s requirement to have a health care exchange. Under ACA, all states must have an electronic database that connects people buying insurance coverage to insurance providers, as well as information about what federal subsidies are available to them. Failure to create an exchange by Jan. 1, 2014, would […]
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Harumph, harumph, harumph
Gov. Mary Fallin called it “a bad day for Americans,” noting that Oklahomans had approved a constitutional amendment to block implementation of the bill. “Today’s decision highlights the importance of electing leaders who will work to repeal the federal health care law and replace it with meaningful reform focused on commonsense, market-based changes,” she said. […]
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Wherefore art thou, Democrats?
Democrats hold no statewide offices. They failed to file candidates for the two Corporation Commission seats up for election this year. Of the 24 state Senate seats up this year, Democrats filed for only 12. In the 101 state House districts, they fielded candidates in just 54. There are Democrats running for all five Congressional […]
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Oklahoma stalls on insurance exchange
The costs to comply with this law are staggering. Just days ago, the federal bureaucracy released more than 600 pages of proposed regulations related to health insurance exchanges, just one provision of PPACA. Many companies expect to hire full-time staff just to comply with the law, taking resources away from the company’s normal production for […]