Oklahoma health insurance exchange draws fire

Senate Bill 971 would create a state exchange along the lines of an agreement worked out by Gov. Mary Fallin, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker Kris Steele – the three most powerful Republicans in state government – after two previous legislative attempts at exchanges fell apart politically. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, a member of the conservative bloc that successfully fought the previous plans, said any legislation that sets up a state exchange would be the means of imposing “Obamacare” on the state. He said SB 971 could be in danger of the same fate as the two previous legislative attempts at a health exchange. “I think it will not pass,” Ritze said. “I think it is probably on pretty shaky grounds, because they have not convinced me that an exchange is any different in any form, no matter what they put it in.” Meanwhile, Senate Democrats criticize the bill for not being close enough to the federal health-care law. Sen. Tom Adelson, D-Tulsa, called the bill disappointing and predictable and said whether it would satisfy mandates of the federal health-care law is questionable. The bill, which he expects to pass despite its shortcomings, doesn’t ensure that the insurance plans it promotes will meet minimum federal standards, doesn’t set up a fair means of comparison shopping and specifically prohibits the exchange’s governing board from minimal regulatory oversight, he said. Ironically, said Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, the bill’s failure to meet those standards puts the state at risk of the kind of federal intervention Ritze fears. “The Affordable Care Act is a federal law like the Patriot Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act, ” Rice said. “That is the law of the land. … Until that changes by act of Congress or the Supreme Court, that’s a reality. “Just saying that Oklahoma is going to opt out or not comply is not constitutional.” The Democrats point to a memo published online Wednesday by David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, to back up their positions. Blatt’s memo criticizes the plan’s organization and its governing board and says it falls short of basic standards of federal health-care law in several ways. “These deficiencies raise the specter of the federal government stepping in to create a real health insurance exchange in Oklahoma – precisely the threat that spurred Gov. Fallin to accept the $54 million federal grant in the first place,” Blatt writes. “It is still possible that the network could eventually meet federal standards. But for now, it looks as if Oklahoma is more intent on proving its defiance of Washington and responding to interests and fears of the insurance industry than it is in creating an insurance marketplace that would actually benefit everyday Oklahomans.” Conservative bloggers who helped bring down earlier exchange plans and a $54 million federal grant to pay for it are also speaking out against SB 971. “Oklahomans don’t want an exchange, with or without federal grant money,” conservative activist Kaye Beach said in a Tuesday blog posting. Beach said the bill looks similar to the previous legislation, and she questions plans to have the exchange funded with state and private sources. “We’ve been told the state is facing a budget shortfall – where will the funding come from? What/who are the private sources?” she wrote. The legislation doesn’t specify how the exchange would be designed, leaving open the possibility that the troubled organization of the previous plan would be used, she said. View All

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