A COMPASSIONATE APPROACH TO MEDICAID: REFORM, DON’T EXPAND OCPA RECOMMENDATIONS
Pursue solutions at the state level to make the existing Medicaid program more effective for Oklahoma families.
Key Facts
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Expanding Medicaid embraces the Affordable Care Act, “Obamacare”, and expands government run healthcare.
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The federal government can change the formula for payment any time it wants, or worse, not pay at all.
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Oklahoma government already spends more on Medicaid than on education. Expanding Medicaid would further cut into funding for schools and roads.
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Medicaid expansion could tax all income levels $1,300 per Oklahoma tax return.
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Medicaid expansion will overburden the program and reduce services to those who need it most.
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Oklahoma’s rejected federal funds WILL NOT go to other states.
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Not expanding Medicaid will halt federal debt growth by hundreds of billions of dollars.
Increase Satisfaction with Choices. Give patients a choice of private health plans. Enrollees can choose from plans with varied benefits and provider networks. Competition will lower cost and provide better outcomes for Oklahomans.
Improve Health with Incentives. Create a monetary rewards
system to reward healthy and responsible behavior.
Reduce Costs, Increase Funding for Core Services. When
government plans and providers are held more accountable by a patient-centered approach, costs flatten or even decrease. This frees up money to be used on other core services, such as education.
Increase Charity Care. Oklahoma needs to collaborate with local provider groups, free healthcare clinics and hospital networks to encourage providers to see a certain amount of uninsured patients for free.
Not only will these reforms save taxpayer money, they will also improve benefits for those who need quality healthcare the most. Oklahoma should model our reforms based on a patient-centered, market-based Medicaid program. Patients reported better health outcomes and higher statisfaction rates with their own plans, their care and their access to specialists than their counterparts who are confined to traditional Medicaid.
Contact: Dacia Harris | Phone: 405-602-1667 | dacia@ocpathink.org