To Comfort The Afflicted
And Afflict The Comfortable

To Comfort The Afflicted And Afflict The Comfortable

Friday, December 13, 2024

Observercast

Medicaid Mistake

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BY WANDA JO STAPLETON

An open letter to Gov. Mary Fallin:

By not expanding Medicaid, you are costing us Oklahomans dearly. We are still paying the Medicaid taxes but not getting the benefit. Instead, the benefits which our taxes support go to other states.

Why would you do that when the federal government pays 100% of the Medicaid expansion [via the Affordable Care Act] through 2016, and then 90% of the program’s cost after 2016?

And you think that the 10% we would have to pay after 2016 would strain your budget?

You know that hospitals would greatly prefer to pay 6% of their revenues and get a much larger amount back from Medicaid from the newly insured.

Rumor is that you are afraid of getting a right-wing extremist as an opponent next year and you’re placing politics over the people – people whose lives would be better, even saved, by having health insurance and could go to the doctor when they got sick. Instead they now wait until they are so bad they have to go to the emergency room, which is enormously expensive for us taxpayers.

Do you think that if Oklahomans understood what you are doing, that they would approve?

If you think you need “cover” for expanding Medicaid, you can reference these Republican governors who have expanded Medicaid in their states: John Kasich [Ohio], Jan Brewer [Arizona], Rick Snyder [Michigan], Brian Sandoval [Nevada], Susana Martinez [New Mexico], Chris Christie [New Jersey], Jack Dalrymple [North Dakota] and Rick Scott [Florida].

Sincerely,

Wanda Jo [Peltier] Stapleton

Oklahoma City

Wanda Jo [Peltier] Stapleton represented south Oklahoma City in the state House of Representatives from 1986-96.

 

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you, Ms. Stapleton! Your voice is one of the few in Oklahoma’s healthcare wilderness speaking for The People. Governor Fallin’s position is fiscally irresponsible and ethically immoral. Thanks to your efforts, more and more people will come to realize how she put political aspirations above the best interests of Oklahomans.

    Who pays for Governor Fallin’s health insurance? I wrote her office making this very inquiry and received a letter indicating I had to ask another state agency. Her office purposely made finding an answer more cumbersome than need be, a political move. Shame!

Arnold Hamilton
Arnold Hamilton
Arnold Hamilton became editor of The Observer in September 2006. Previously, he served nearly two decades as the Dallas Morning News’ Oklahoma Bureau chief. He also covered government and politics for the San Jose Mercury News, the Dallas Times Herald, the Tulsa Tribune and the Oklahoma Journal.