On June 30, Oklahomans can vote on expanding the Medicaid program there. But supporters worry that fear of the coronavirus could diminish turnout or voters could be confused by Gov. Kevin Stitt’s recent change of heart: He now supports Medicaid expansion but not the ballot initiative.
As climate change bears down, a haphazard web of weather safeguards is a particular blow to the disabled. In Oklahoma, no state laws require homeowners or landlords to install storm shelters. If a community wants to open a storm shelter for the public, that’s up to local officials, But there’s no database that Oklahomans can consult showing where public or wheelchair-accessible shelters are located.
President Donald Trump keeps promising a new health plan, but so far it’s nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is proposing a plan to cancel billions of dollars in medical debt owed by patients. This week, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Rovner also interviews KHN’s Rachel Bluth about the latest “Bill of the Month” feature. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
The state judge ruled that drugmaker Johnson & Johnson contributed to the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of 6,000 Oklahomans.
Oklahoma is seeking $17 billion in damages from Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant. After a seven-week trial, a judge will decide if the opioid drugmaker is liable and if so, for how much.
As states struggle to respond to the national drug crisis, officials around the country are watching Oklahoma. The state’s attorney general says opioid drugmakers helped ignite a health crisis that has killed thousands of residents.
Health officials and doctors treating patients with HIV welcome the funding push, but warn that the strategies that work in progressive cities don’t necessarily translate to rural areas.
Medicaid drug spending doubled in five years in Massachusetts. The state wanted to exclude expensive drugs that weren’t proven to work better than existing alternatives from its Medicaid plan, but the federal government blocked the effort.
