Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/tag/medicaid/)
Although the Pauls Valley hospital has closed, the city continues to hold on to 28 nursing homes whose enhanced federal payments were supposed to help keep the hospital open. The city is waiting for a determination from federal regulators on the arrangement.
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?
A dispute between Oklahoma and federal agencies over relatively high payments for hundreds of doctors who treat Medicaid patients is a key reason state taxpayers are on the hook for $140 million in emergency funds for the state’s two medical schools, records obtained by Oklahoma Watch show.
As the waiting list for individualized services for developmentally disabled Oklahomans grows, the state Department of Human Services is considering changing the first-come, first-served approach to a priority system. It’s unclear how the system would work and whether it would be fair and effective.
Watch a video of our informative discussion on the direction of health care in Oklahoma.
Amid uncertainty over the federal health law, state policymakers also are exploring moves that could affect health care for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans, by loosening what types of coverage insurers are required to provide.