SB 1337: Another Attempt at Managed Care Medicaid

SSB 1337: Another Attempt at Managed Care Medicaid

On March 23, the Senate passed SB 1337, a bill that will convert the state’s Medicaid system to insurance managed care. SB 1337, by Senator Greg McCortney and Representative Marcus McEntire, is an Oklahoma Health Care Authority bill that was drafted and passed with no input from Medicaid providers – only from the insurance companies. The bill passed with the title off, which means that the authors agree that work still needs to be done on the bill before it passes. The following letter was sent to each House member from the Oklahomans Caring for Oklahomans Coalition, a group of healthcare organizations who are united in our fight against managed care Medicaid. Follow the work of the Coalition and sign up for Coalition news and legislative alerts at oklacares.org.

Oklahoma Chapter March 25, 2022

The Honorable XXXX 2300 N Lincoln Blvd., Rm XXX Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Dear Representative XXXX:

Insurance managed care is again on the table before the Oklahoma Legislature, following the recent passage of SB 1337.

SB 1337 was brought for consideration at the request of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority without any real input from the organizations represented by Oklahomans Caring for Oklahomans – an advocacy group dedicated to preserving the relationship between patients and their health care providers.

To be clear, emailing a handful of doctors a copy of SB 1337 a few hours before the bill was presented for a vote does not constitute seeking and implementing input from Oklahoma’s health care community, which serves rural and urban Oklahomans.

ADVANCING THE PRACTICE SINCE 1946 Importantly, a recent poll from Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates found 84% of all Oklahomans agreed with a simple statement: “I do not want any government laws getting between me and my doctor.” The same poll found that Oklahomans have a general distrust of health insurance systems, whose favorability comes in at only 32%.

OHCA continues to aggressively promote insurance managed care, giving the national insurance companies opportunities for input into this process that have so far been denied to local health care providers. When we don’t work together, insurance managed care could negatively impact physical and behavioral health care, causing Oklahomans to lose their providers, including doctors, nurses, dentists, dental hygienists and hospitals, while insurance companies profit from rationed care.

Oklahoma health care providers have been promised a seat at the table – and we’re still waiting for the invitation. In the interim, we remain united and opposed to insurance managed care.