A handful of small Oklahoma cities have become owners of dozens of Oklahoma nursing homes across the state in the past 15 months, hoping to tap into a federal program that will bring them millions of dollars. Can they ensure quality of care?
Dueling Doctors: The Benefits, Risks of Treating Patients with Marijuana
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Medical associations have been cautious or opposed when it comes to legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. But what do individual doctors think? Oklahoma Watch talked to a physician in Oklahoma City and another in Florida, where a form of medical marijuana is legal, to get their perspectives. Oklahoma voters weigh in June 26.
Medical Marijuana: What the Research Shows
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Until Monday, a marijuana-derived drug had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. What does the research show about the effects of marijuana on health?
Medical Marijuana Would Bring Steep Tax, Unknown Amount for Schools
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Patients here will pay one of the highest tax rates for medical marijuana among the 30 states that currently offer it if State Question 788 is approved by voters this month, according to an Oklahoma Watch analysis.
With Health Department News, Waves of Disbelief Roll Across State
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As the news rolled out Thursday that the Oklahoma State Department of Health never was insolvent, the reaction was a stunned disbelief. Then anger.
Q&A: What the Findings on State Health Department Mean, and What’s Next
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A multi-county grand jury and auditors served up plenty of answers about the financial crisis at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. But questions remained. Here are some of the answers.
State of Despair: Suicide Rates Remain High in Oklahoma
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Oklahoma continues to experience high rates of suicide, a tragic reflection of its severe problems of mental illness, addiction, poverty and other social ills.
Feds Again Deny State’s Attempt to Use Medicaid Funds to Train Doctors
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The state will have to find another way to help fund graduate medical education by July 2019 if it wants to use Medicaid matching funds. The federal government on Tuesday denied the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s latest bid to fix the program’s funding issues.
Getting Pregnant, Getting Fired: Discrimination Cases Persist Despite 40-Year-Old Law
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Forty years after Congress passed landmark legislation to prevent employers from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth, complaints in Oklahoma of such treatment continue.
From the Case Files: Pregnancy Discrimination Claims
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Allegations of pregnancy discrimination involve a variety of jobs and behaviors. Here are some examples of Oklahoma cases filed in federal court or with the EEOC offices.
Laws Keep Mentally Ill From Buying Guns, But Gun Suicides Continue Apace
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Nearly 58 percent of Oklahoma’s suicides last year involved firearms. Mental-health experts say that so-called “red flag” laws, which allow police to even temporarily confiscate guns if a person poses a risk to themselves or others, could help lower the state’s stubbornly high suicide rate.