INITIATIVE PETITION 419 STATE QUESTION 802
Medicaid is a government-sponsored health insurance program for qualifying low-income persons. This measure would add a provision to the Oklahoma Constitution requiring the State to expand Medicaid coverage. The expanded coverage would include certain persons over 18 and under 65 who are not already covered and whose annual income, as calculated under federal law, is at or below 133% of the federal poverty line. The federal poverty line changes annually, but for example if this measure were in effect in 2019, the measure generally would have covered a single adult making less than $17,236 annually and adults in a family of four making less than $35,535 annually.
Under this measure, the State cannot create additional restrictions that make it more difficult to qualify for expanded Medicaid coverage than it is to qualify for the Medicaid program currently in place.
The Medicaid program is funded jointly by the federal government and the State. This measure would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) to try to maximize federal funding for Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma. If the measure is approved, OHCA has 90 days to submit all documents necessary to obtain federal approval for implementing Medicaid expansion by July 1, 2021.
SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?
FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES
AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO
SUMMARY: On June 30 voters are being asked to say yes or no to a plan expanding federal health insurance coverage (Medicaid) to about 200,000 more qualifying Oklahomans. State Question 802 amends the Oklahoma Constitution to expand coverage by July 1, 2021, for Oklahomans age 18 to 65 whose annual income is at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty line. The Medicaid expansion was authorized in the Affordable Care Act of 2014. Oklahoma is among 14 states that have not expanded coverage. The federal government currently pays 90 percent of the expanded plan’s cost and the state must fund the other 10 percent. The amendment prevents the state from creating additional restrictions — such as work, school or community service - that make it more difficult for persons to qualify. The state question came about after more than 300,000 Oklahomans signed petitions to put the question on a ballot. The governor and some lawmakers proposed alternatives, including Gov. Kevin Stitt’s SoonerCare 2.0, but those efforts stopped with his veto of a bill moving the plan forward. Supporters believe approval will help financially support rural health ...
