Dear Friend, A damaging bill is about to be voted on in the House, and we need your help to stop it! HB 1270 would require Oklahoma to make expensive and unnecessary changes to the SoonerCare (Medicaid) program, wasting public dollars and hurting families who rely on SoonerCare for basic medical care. Speaking out on this bill is especially urgent because it's already passed through the Senate last spring and is now going to a final vote in the House. It’s scheduled to be voted on in the full House as soon as tomorrow (3/6). Please contact your Representative and ask them to vote no on HB 1270. Here’s why: HB 1270 is a pricey solution in search of a problem. Oklahoma already has a great online enrollment system for SoonerCare, with one of the lowest error rates in the nation. But HB 1270 would require our state Medicaid agency to take apart its current system and rebuild it to be less efficient and effective. In other words, HB 1270 would require us break what isn’t broken – with a first-year price tag of $1.2 million and $450,000 per year after that. HB 1270 would make it harder for Oklahoma families who need SoonerCare to keep their coverage. SoonerCare members already have to provide plenty of proof that they qualify for coverage. That information is repeatedly verified by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. However, HB 1270 would add even more verification mandates, require a contract with a private company to duplicate what the state’s already doing, and create unrealistically tight deadlines for members to respond to requests for more information. This will result in Oklahoma families who honestly qualify for SoonerCare being kicked off their coverage, unable to see a doctor or refill a prescription that they need. HB 1270 is cookie-cutter legislation peddled by an out-of-state interest group and doesn’t reflect Oklahoma’s needs. Bills identical to HB 1270 have surfaced in nearly a dozen states in the last few years, but only two state Legislatures have actually passed it – and in one of those, it was vetoed. Oklahoma should follow those states’ examples and reject HB 1270. For more information, see our blog post from last spring on why HB 1270 is a bad bill for Oklahoma. HB 1270 could be brought to the House floor anytime tomorrow or in the future. Please contact your Representative and ask her or him to vote no on HB 1270. Sincerely, David and the OK Policy team | Oklahoma Policy Institute
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