From the President

Posted on: 7/2/20

We did it! Tuesday night’s victory on Medicaid expansion is a win for the entire state of Oklahoma. It’s a win for the 200,000 individuals who will be eligible for vital health care coverage in 2021, it’s a win for vulnerable rural hospitals, it’s a win for business and the state’s economy, and yes, it’s a win for the state budget. And it wouldn’t have happened if not for the work of all of you in every part of the state.

Every single vote counted in this election. Even if your county did not vote in favor overall, those 300 or 400 votes coming out of your county made all the difference in the end statewide! Many counties were very close. State Question 802 passed by exactly 6,518 votes.

Thank you for your tireless work not just over the past year, but over the past 10 years to bring this to fruition. Please extend our thanks to the many volunteers among your employees, friends and community members who worked hard as well.

We are grateful to the people of Oklahoma who believed as we did that expanding Medicaid was the right thing to do. Our work to increase health care access, reduce disparities and lower the number of uninsured will continue.

We look forward to working with lawmakers on budget options to fund expansion without raising taxes, and we know it can be done. Ultimately, the state will benefit from savings associated with accessing enhanced federal matching funds, savings from replacing state general revenue funds with federal match, and the positive economic impact of additional revenue flowing into the state. Improving the health of Oklahomans requires investments like this!

To view the county-by-county breakdown on the final vote, click here.

Many thanks,
Patti Davis