Oklahoma became the first state in the United States to expand Medicaid using increased federal financial incentives offered to the 12 remaining states that had not widened eligibility for benefits through the government.
“Oklahoma is now a model for other states looking to expand health coverage to those who need it most,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
OBAMACARE REMAINS POPULAR WITH VOTERS FOLLOWING THIRD SUPREME COURT DECISION TO KEEP LAW
The state will take advantage of the financial incentives handed down as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden for states to expand eligibility for Medicaid, the government program jointly funded with the state that provides benefits to the very poor and the disabled. For two years, Oklahoma will get a 5% boost in federal payments for its traditional enrollees, estimated to equal about $500 million over two years.
The program, SoonerCare, offers coverage to people ages 19 to 64 with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, $17,774 per year for a single person and $36,570 for a family of four. Roughly 190,000 Oklahomans will qualify for benefits, according to an estimate from the Department of Health and Human Services. Since applications for coverage went live on June 1, 120,000 have qualified for coverage through SoonerCare.
“I want to congratulate Oklahoma on joining the ranks of states that are bringing quality health coverage to our neighbors and families,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. “I encourage the remaining 13 states to look at the opportunities included in the American Rescue Plan and join us, so that every person eligible can get covered.”
The expansion is a win for Biden, who ran on the promise that he would build upon Obamacare to make coverage more accessible. The added financial benefit to expansion has not attracted states in the way his administration had hoped, as GOP-led state legislatures have long opposed what they argue is government overreach. Missouri state lawmakers, for instance, in April rejected roughly 53% of voters’ wishes to expand Medicaid in their state, as shown in a constitutional amendment vote, when they omitted the necessary boost in funding from the $35 billion fiscal year 2022 budget.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Oklahoma voters narrowly approved State Question 802 on the ballot one year ago by about 1%, which enshrined Medicaid expansion in the state constitution, effectively preventing the GOP-led state Legislature or Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt from undoing the expansion.
Stitt unveiled his own healthcare proposal in January 2020 alongside then-President Donald Trump and administration officials. His plan called for a block grant system that would give states a capped amount of money to help fund the program.
His plan would also set work requirements, which mandate that beneficiaries work for a certain number of hours, volunteer, or be enrolled in school. Such requirements have hit legal setbacks in the past. For instance, Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled in 2019 that the work requirements in Arkansas, Kentucky, and New Hampshire were illegal.
