Health Care
Free Market Friday: Say no to the OHCA
April 8, 2016
Jonathan Small
Recently, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority announced another scheme to entangle Oklahoma with the Medicaid expansion proposed in the federal Affordable Care Act.
The OHCA has attempted this a few times, and policymakers have wisely rejected the various proposals, refusing to repeat the mistakes of history.
With this attempt, OHCA bureaucrats have tried to box policymakers in by using a set of public relations tactics. First, the OHCA warned the Medicaid program may end. Then, the OHCA declared Medicaid (a taxpayer-funded entitlement program) the largest health insurer in the state. Then, the OHCA warned of cuts to the program, by way of provider cuts of 25 percent. Of course, the media ran with that story, stoking frenzy.
Policymakers have stated that under no scenario, even with the significant revenue declines, will it be necessary to cut provider rates by such a significant number. You won’t see the media rushing to now clarify the panic they helped create.