Medicaid Expansion Coming to Oklahoma

[TheTravellers]

Or we can just see how this lawsuit plays out. I had no idea that only 3 states in the union require a notary, and we are one of the unfortunate 3.
Since the suit names the Secretary of Election Board, I am supposing that is who has the ability to change the rule?
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/stat...HFlMEzO2eMRAWU

Thanks for that info, hadn't heard about it yet, hope it gets settled in time for the June 30 election. Also interesting to note the signed statement option, never read about that anywhere on the Election Board's website or anyplace else I was looking for OK absentee ballot info. And it's not the Secretary of the Election Board who could make the change, because of this in the article:

"Attorneys for the group earlier this week asked Ziriax to make the change.

He declined, saying removing the requirement for a notary for absentee ballots was beyond the scope of his duty."

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Why? Are rural districts acting like they're not as much concerned as they should be about the future of their medical care? If so, I'm not sure urban districts would be very sympathetic about the needs of the rural districts.

I was mainly responding to Jersey Boy statement that the legislature couldn't seem to get the will of the people done, hence the popular SQ vote. I don't know that it was a urban/rural split as I don't really follow politics. I just figured redrawing district lines might result in different voting outcomes.

[king183]

Well, I certainly didn’t expect Stitt to kill his own Medicaid expansion plan with a veto of the bill to fund it—all because he didn’t realize when the economy goes south, more people become eligible for the program. So, if expansion is going to happen, it will now happen with the state question. It honestly blows my mind how Stitt keeps making rookie mistakes, but he is depending on outside consultants who don’t know Oklahoma, so maybe it shouldn’t be surprising.

[Bunty]

I seem to recall the legislature paying a firm to study whether Oklahoma should accept Medicaid. It came back to go for it.

Once I again, I don't understand why so many conservative state office holders don't take the issue of health care more seriously, unless they can't see the seriousness of it from they and their family members always being blessed with good health. Stitt's tweet with his kids in a restaurant, later deleted, spoke volumes. And if they're well off, like Stitt, the price of health insurance may not be much of an issue, either.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

I'm just baffled. 13.7% unemployment, many have not received their unemployment $ and the governor thinks this is the wrong time to expand healthcare access? Isn't the right time to expand when people lose their employee health benefits, if they even had any?

[TheTravellers]

I'm just baffled. 13.7% unemployment, many have not received their unemployment $ and the governor thinks this is the wrong time to expand healthcare access? Isn't the right time to expand when people lose their employee health benefits, if they even had any?

You're thinking logically, like someone who actually cares about the social safety net - that's the disconnect.

[Plutonic Panda]

It passed!!

[HangryHippo]

It passed!!

Barely, but I'll take it.

[TheTravellers]

Interesting that absentee ballots were heavily in favor (including ours), while in-person voting was completely opposite.

[Bunty]

Interesting that absentee ballots were heavily in favor (including ours), while in-person voting was completely opposite.

Only 7 counties voted for it, Oklahoma, Cleveland, Tulsa, Payne, Comanche, Cherokee and Pontotoc. Once again, the highly conservative rural vote couldn't overcome the urban vote in a state question.

It will be important to vote yes on SQ814 for it to help provide funding for 802:
https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/e...b3368f2f9.html

[Swake]

It's insane because the largest benefit will be for rural health and hospitals. Who voted against it.

[Scott5114]

The Chickasaw Nation endorsed the Yes vote on SQ 802, so my guess is that's what drove the Yes vote in mostly-rural Pontotoc County.

[TheTravellers]

Only 7 counties voted for it, Oklahoma, Cleveland, Tulsa, Payne, Comanche, Cherokee and Pontotoc. Once again, the highly conservative rural vote couldn't overcome the urban vote in a state question.

It will be important to vote yes on SQ814 for it to help provide funding for 802:
https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/e...b3368f2f9.html

Thanks for the info, I didn't delve into the cause too much, but yeah, absentee ballots were most likely done by non-rural smart voters, then the rural voters show up in person to shoot themselves in the foot.

[jdizzle]

My only concern is how the state will fund their portion. Will it be a tax increase, or steal from other departments?

Or will they add a fee to hospital visits?

[TheTravellers]

My only concern is how the state will fund their portion. Will it be a tax increase, or steal from other departments?

Or will they add a fee to hospital visits?

Bunty's post has an interesting and feasible proposal.

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.p...99#post1127099

[Swake]

Over time from an economic perspective this will pay for itself. We will spend one tax dollar for ten dollars of spending in the economy, spending that will then roll over in the economy 2-3 times which will in turn generate a lot more than one dollar in new taxes.

The arguments against expansion in Oklahoma have always been bad. Not just from a moral perspective, but from an economic one as well.

[Bunty]

Thanks for the info, I didn't delve into the cause too much, but yeah, absentee ballots were most likely done by non-rural smart voters, then the rural voters show up in person to shoot themselves in the foot.

The governor is possibly gonna be a poor loser:

Massive Voting Irregularities on - Call For FBI Criminal Investigation:

SQ802 is under a cloud of criminal suspicion during the overnight hours following the close of primary night voting.

The mailed in ballots far exceeded previous norms, but more important to the Attorney General's office, should be the vast contrast between the 80% support for Medicaid expansion claimed in these faceless ballots, and the election day rejection of taxpayer-funded health benefits by a 10% margin of deficit.

The Governor is expected to call on AG Mike Hunter to seek a court injunction for a stay of the certification, until an investigation can be completed.
https://www.soonerpolitics.org/edito...-investigation

[HangryHippo]

That reads more like a salty blog page as opposed to anything legitimate. Right-wingers are trying to sow election discord in preparation for November.

[Bunty]

It's insane because the largest benefit will be for rural health and hospitals. Who voted against it.

Tax hikes. It seems the rural Oklahoma political culture is opposed to all tax hikes at the state level and to most change in general. They are a lot more accustomed to doing with less in their daily life than urban folks. Some rural counties don't even have so much as a Wal-Mart or a hospital.

[TheTravellers]

That reads more like a salty blog page as opposed to anything legitimate. Right-wingers are trying to sow election discord in preparation for November.

Yep, absolutely, in probably every election. This can easily be explained as it has been in the past few posts - smart non-rural voters that see the benefit of it and aren't opposed to taxes and are in favor of social safety nets voted by absentee in huge numbers because of the pandemic, while rural voters don't see any problems with voting in-person (less crowded polling places, etc.) and don't like taxes or social safety nets, so voted against it.

[David]

The governor is gonna be a poor loser:

Massive Voting Irregularities on - Call For FBI Criminal Investigation:

SQ802 is under a cloud of criminal suspicion during the overnight hours following the close of primary night voting.

The mailed in ballots far exceeded previous norms, but more important to the Attorney General's office, should be the vast contrast between the 80% support for Medicaid expansion claimed in these faceless ballots, and the election day rejection of taxpayer-funded health benefits by a 10% margin of deficit.

The Governor is expected to call on AG Mike Hunter to seek a court injunction for a stay of the certification, until an investigation can be completed.
https://www.soonerpolitics.org/edito...-investigation

That looks like some random dude's blog, is there any reason to believe that this David Van Risseghem guy has a real connection to Stitt such that he might know what he is talking about?

[Bunty]

Gov. Stitt said about passage of SQ802, "We have a billion-dollar shortfall next year. The state would have to either raise taxes or cut services somewhere else like education, first responders, or roads and bridges".

But Gov. Stitt doesn't know what he's talking about. At least two sources of funding have been identified to pay for SQ802. They are raising the Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program (SHOPP) fee on hospitals and earmarking a large share of tobacco settlement revenues by passage of SQ814.

Stitt even vetoed his new Soonercare plan that would be funded by raising SHOPP fee. It goes to show you how the state doesn't have good leadership from the governor on this issue. He hardly seems to want to lead at all.

[Bunty]

That looks like some random dude's blog, is there any reason to believe that this David Van Risseghem guy has a real connection to Stitt such that he might know what he is talking about?

I don't know, but I regard him as a conservative political activist. Interestingly enough, he supported legalizing medical marijuana.

[GoGators]

Gov. Stitt said about passage of SQ802, "We have a billion-dollar shortfall next year. The state would have to either raise taxes or cut services somewhere else like education, first responders, or roads and bridges".

But Gov. Stitt doesn't know what he's talking about. At least two sources of funding have been identified to pay for SQ802. They are raising the Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program (SHOPP) fee on hospitals and earmarking a large share of tobacco settlement revenues by passage of SQ814.

Why wasn't he worried about the billion dollar shortfall when he was out buying 2 million dollars worth of snake oil?

[GoGators]

That looks like some random dude's blog, is there any reason to believe that this David Van Risseghem guy has a real connection to Stitt such that he might know what he is talking about?

Yea, the article is clearly not legitimate in any way. Just ramblings of some guy. The vast majority of the article is just him saying what he believes someone should do. the only mention of Stitt is one vague sentence.

"The Governor is expected to call on AG Mike Hunter to seek a court injunction for a stay of the certification, until an investigation can be completed."

Yes i'm sure he expects Stitt to do this in his mind. This article is just conspiratorial fan fiction.