Legislative update: Oklahomans Helping Oklahomans Act moves forward

Posted on: 4/9/21

Deadline week tends to lead to an eventful week, and what an eventful week it was. 

SB 131 by Rep. Marcus McEntire and Sen. Jessica Garvin passed out of House Public Health Committee on Wednesday. Known as the Oklahomans Caring for Oklahomans Act, this bill seeks to stop the privatization of state’s Medicaid program. Despite a concerted effort by MCO lobbyists, and representatives from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the governor’s staff, the bill made it out of committee on a 9-1 vote. 

Passage of SB 131 garnered a swift response from Gov. Kevin Stitt, stating in part, “it is irresponsible to use hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to require a state agency to create a program that already exists and is successfully implemented in 40 other states.” Lest we forget that the price tag for SoonerSelect is $2 billion. The governor went on to say, “Oklahomans do not want to follow Joe Biden’s playbook and continue to grow a singer-payer, government health care program that led to Oklahoma ranking 49th in health outcomes.” 

Less than 24 hours prior, we asked you to contact your legislator on the House Public Health Committee and you responded. Combined with other grassroots efforts from various members of the Health Care Holdup Coalition, members certainly heard from supporters of the bill. This is the kind of response we are asking of you for the remainder of legislative session. We will continue this fight as we approach the April 22 floor deadline. Thank you for continued time and support as we fight against SoonerSelect. (Scott Tohlen)