Senators urge governor to rethink managed care contracts

State Sen. George Burns, R-Pollard, along with a group of nine Senators sent a letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt urging him to rethink his plan to enter into a Managed Care contract for Oklahoma’s Medicaid population.

Burns said documents from the governor’s office show moving the state’s Medicaid population to an out-of-state managed care system would not save the state money.

“My district is on the border between Oklahoma and Texas, so I have constituents with experience working with managed care in Texas, and none of the people I’ve spoken to who’ve had to deal with managed care systems believe it’s good for patients or the healthcare system,” Burns said. “Based on my conversations, they aren’t sure who it’s good for other than the out-of-state insurance companies and their stockholders.”

The lawmakers said the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) is one of the best Medicaid agencies in the nation and they hope the governor will delay signing any managed care contract until he can come together with the Senate and House to find a solution that is affordable and will provide better healthcare outcomes for Oklahomans.

The following Senators signed the letter:

• Sen. Mark Allen, R-Spiro
• Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair
• Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant
• Sen. Tom Dugger, R-Stillwater
• Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain
• Sen. Joe Newhouse, R-Broken Arrow
• Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington
• Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman
• Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore