Protect OK Patients. Oppose Managed Care. ARE YOU GOING TO STAND WITH THE PATIENTS, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND HOSPITALS IN YOUR DISTRICT, OR ARE YOU GOING TO STAND WITH PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES? YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO STOP THIS VERY EXPENSIVE MISTAKE – PLEASE USE IT NOW! The governor and the lobbyists for the managed care companies are pushing A LOT of misinformation, but here are the facts:
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Patients will be the main beneficiaries of the new plan because of the emphasis on preventive care. Patients will be harmed as access and services are reduced or denied. The OHCA’s own actuarial advisor has said that to achieve cost savings under the managed care plan, Oklahoma would need to reduce services to Medicaid patients by up to 40%. Privatization will lead to more efficient spending of Oklahoma’s healthcare funding. SoonerCare is a national model with administration costs below 4%. Comparatively, the governor’s plan allows up to 15% in administrative costs for large insurance companies. Privatization will rapidly improve Oklahoma’s national health rankings. Oklahoma’s current health standings are closely tied to its rankings in housing, education, income, poverty and a lack of health insurance. Corporate middlemen cannot solve these societal causes. The members of the Oklahoma Dental Association support SB 131, the Oklahomans Caring for Oklahomans Act, which keeps Medicaid with the OHCA and directs the OHCA to implement their already-developed plan to identify trends, implement quality improvements and reverse unfavorable trends. This plan offers far greater hope for lasting changes than privatizing health care. The governor was within his authority to privatize Medicaid without legislative approval. The governor did not follow the Oklahoma Constitution which assigns budgetary duties to the Legislature. Medicaid will account for about one-fourth of Oklahoma’s next fiscal year budget, yet the Legislature and the entire health care community were not even consulted.
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All states who have expanded Medicaid have also privatized their programs.
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There have been safeguards put in place to avoid the problems managed care Medicaid faced in the 90s.
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At least seven states that expanded Medicaid do not have privatized managed care.
The OHCA CEO and board members, as well as the governor, have all been asked repeatedly to explain those safeguards and no specifics have been provided. The governor’s plan has broad-based support. Opposition to the governor’s plan includes patient groups as well as EVERY group of healthcare providers and hospital in every part of the state. There is nothing the Legislature can do at this point to stop the governor’s plan because the contracts have been signed. The contracts with the insurance companies include two provisions that clearly give the Legislature veto power. One instructs the OHCA to cancel the contracts if the Legislature does not appropriate the necessary funding. The other provision is even more direct – it says the contracts are terminated if the Legislature votes to prohibit them.
WE ARE PROUD TO BE PART OF THE HEALTHCARE HOLDUP COALITION 30 journal | May/June 2021HEALTHCAREHOLDUP.COM
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