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.

Turmoil Continues at Health Department as Commissioner Abruptly Resigns
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The Oklahoma State Department of Health is looking for a new interim commissioner after Preston Doerflinger abruptly resigned Tuesday.

Only a Handful of Prison Inmates Get Treatment for Deadly Disease
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Inmates in Oklahoma prisons must have advanced liver disease before becoming eligible for treatment that cures hepatitis C, a potentially deadly and growing disease. Since July 1, only five inmates have been given the drug treatment.

Exec Who Caught Health Department’s Problems Resigns, Citing Conflicts of Interest in Agency
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The chief financial officer of the state Health Department, who helped bring the agency’s accounting irregularities to light, abruptly resigned Thursday, citing conflicts of interest and a disagreement with the interim health commissioner.

The Case for and Against Tapping the Tobacco Fund to Bolster State Services
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With another budget shortfall looming, lawmakers are eyeing the $1.1 billion Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, raising questions about constitutional limitations and the effectiveness of the agency’s public health education campaigns.

Health Agency ‘Bloat’ Included Fallin Effort to Remake Public Health
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The Oklahoma State Department of Health and Gov. Mary Fallin set out to reshape strategies for markedly improving Oklahomans’ health. There was just one problem: The money to pay for them started to run out.

Oklahomans in Need Could Pay the Price for Health Department Crisis
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News about the financial crisis at the Oklahoma State Department of Health has focused lately on accounting schemes and questions of oversight. Getting less attention is what the debacle could mean for public health.

Health Department Records Show Allegations of Deliberate Deception
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Documents released Friday by the Oklahoma State Department of Health detail a number of alleged deceptions, including fraudulent budget reports to finance officials and omissions in reporting the agency’s financial position to the Legislature and the State Board of Health.

State Could Lose More Than $115M in Funds for Medical Education
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Oklahoma’s two medical schools could lose $115 million a year because the state spent Medicaid dollars on training doctors for well over a decade apparently without approval.

Where Were the Watchdogs in the Health Department Crisis?
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The cash crisis at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, which was years in the making, raises questions about which agencies and state officials could have caught the agency’s reported financial mismanagement.

Grand Jury Looks into Health Department Mismanagement as Lawmakers Widen Probe
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Hours after a grand jury met to look into allegations of financial mismanagement at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, lawmakers sent subpoenas to three of the state’s top budget officials. Meanwhile, the exodus of leadership at the Health Department continues in the wake of the agency’s sudden cash crunch.