Oklahoma House To Vote On Bills Impacting Medicaid

On Friday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives will vote at 9:30 a.m. on two bills that will patch up holes for Medicaid services until April.

Both passed in the Senate on Wednesday. Senate Bill 1 would appropriate over $17 million to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. Senate Bill 2 would devote over $26 million to the Department of Human Services.

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House Majority Floor Leader John Echols has no doubt it will pass. He said, “I’m very confident that this will pass in a bipartisan manner. It only received five “no” votes in the senate.”

If the bill is not passed, Echols said there would be a six percent provider rate cut. The bill would impact a large portion of Oklahomans, especially those in the elderly or developmentally disabled community.

Following Friday’s vote, elected officials likely will have to return in January for the special session to discuss the overall budget issue, which Echols says is in negotiation.

“There was a bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans of community leaders and business owners in the state. They came with some solutions,” said Echols.

He said he couldn’t go into too much detail, but assures they are working on the overall budget issue. “We’ve continued in those negotiations and the representatives and the senate are considering those ideas that have been brought to us and see if we can reach an agreement.”

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