In The Know: A health insurance crisis is looming for Oklahomans. Do our electeds care? | Oklahoma mental health department explores privatizing some behavioral care centers | Putting people before politics shouldn’t be controversial

In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2025 Subscribe // View web version (current and archived) Policy Matters: Putting people before politics shouldn't be controversial   Imagine if everyone — your neighbors, your child's teacher, the cashier at the store — had what they needed to live with dignity: food, shelter, medical care, and good public schools. In Oklahoma, this idea isn't just ambitious — it's controversial. Somehow, basic needs have been reframed as luxuries. But why is it considered radical to expect everyone to have what they need to thrive? [Shiloh Kantz / The Journal Record] $1.1 trillion   The amount cut from Medicaid and ACA marketplaces under the Republican megabill enacted on July 4, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The law's provisions will strip health coverage from millions, raise costs for millions more, impose work requirements and red tape that block eligible people from enrolling, and take coverage away from most categories of immigrants living lawfully in the U.S. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities] Health Provisions in the 2025 Federal Budget Reconciliation Law   The "One Big Beautiful Bill" makes sweeping changes across Medicaid, the ACA marketplace, Medicare, and Health Savings Accounts — designed largely to curb federal health spending. Key Medicaid changes include tighter eligibility checks, new work or cost-sharing requirements for certain low-income adults, and restrictions on how states can use provider taxes, which could shift more costs to states and beneficiaries. Premium tax credits under the ACA are set to expire — raising marketplace costs for many — and Medicare provisions affect drug negotiation, physician payments, and long-term care. Taken together, these reforms are projected to raise the number of uninsured Americans by millions and reduce federal health outlays by over $1 trillion over the next decade. [KFF] "A catastrophe [is] headed our way like a tsunami, and a disaster potentially fatal to many in a state already burdened by one of the highest rates of poverty and poor health in the nation."   — The Oklahoman editorial board, warning that allowing the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire would trigger massive premium increases and push tens of thousands of Oklahomans out of coverage. [The Oklahoman] Stay tuned in January!   We're excited to share that starting in January 2026, we'll begin offering advocacy trainings in communities across the state for anyone who wants to get more involved. Whether you're taking your first step into advocacy or you've been doing this work for years, we would love for you to join us and help strengthen the movement for a better Oklahoma. Subscribe to Together OK Updates Oklahoma News   Long Story Short: State Delays Push Data Center Developers to Private Land (podcast): Paul Monies looked into delays by the Commissioners of the Land Office that led to the state missing out on revenue from a data center on school lands. Keaton Ross wrote about the Oklahoma Department of Corrections' refusal to release body camera footage under the Oklahoma Open Records Act. [Oklahoma Watch]   State Government News   Stitt appoints new OMES director to lead core state function: Stitt on Wednesday appointed Oklahoma Tax Commissioner Mark Wood to be the director of OMES, an agency that serves as the backbone of state government resources. Longtime Internal Revenue Service official Dan LaFortune will replace Wood at the state Tax Commission. [Oklahoma Voice] Oklahoma Gov. Stitt taps new director to lead key state agency [The Oklahoman] Oklahoma Attorney General joins lawsuit against Uber alleging deceptive practices: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in a lawsuit against rideshare company Uber, alleging the company used deceptive and unfair practices to sell Uber One subscription services. [News 9]   Federal Government News   Moderate US House Republicans join Dems to force vote on extension of health care subsidies: Republican leaders in the U.S. House will face a floor vote in early 2026 on Democrats' plan to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for three more years, after passing their own legislation Wednesday night that has little chance of a future in the Senate and does not address the tax credits. [Oklahoma Voice] Meet the 4 Republicans who defied House Speaker Mike Johnson on ACA subsidies [AP via Public Radio Tulsa] Trump claims economic turnaround, after blasting Dems' affordability focus: As Americans continue to face rising prices ahead of year-end holidays, President Donald Trump blamed inflation and health care costs on his predecessor during a prime-time speech Wednesday in which he also claimed to have fixed the issues. [Oklahoma Voice]   Editorial: A health insurance crisis is looming for Oklahomans. Do our electeds care?: A month ago, this newspaper urged our state's representatives in Congress to do something vitally important for many thousands of poor and middle-income Oklahomans. We asked them to extend the current enhancements to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that help make health insurance coverage more affordable for millions throughout the entire nation. [The Oklahoman]   Tribal Nations News   Choctaw Nation partners with Rosetta Stone to revitalize language, promote accessibility: In an effort to revitalize and protect the Choctaw language, the tribal nation and Rosetta Stone announced a new partnership. Interested language learners will be able to access Level One of the new resource this June, which also integrates Choctaw culture. [KOSU]   Voting and Election News   Group close to getting enough signatures to add Independents to ballot: A new group has been working to give Independent voters in Oklahoma a voice at the polls during elections. The Sooner State Party was at the State Capitol on Wednesday. [KFOR]   Education News   State Department of Education to develop new social studies standards after court decision: The State Department of Education affirmed Wednesday that it will comply with an order from the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturning the state's new social studies standards. [Tulsa World] After court ruling, OSBE ready to 'regain public trust' on social studies standards [The Oklahoman] Ryan Walters: Justices 'should be ashamed of themselves' for blocking 2025 social studies standards [KOCO] Education Watch: With Smartphones Banned, Policymakers Look to Other Screens in Classrooms: The two lawmakers behind the cell phone ban, Sen. Ally Seifried and Rep. Chad Caldwell, teamed up again for an interim study in October on student learning in a digital age. Seifried, R-Claremore, said she's keeping an open mind, but much of the discussion focused on limiting screen time in schools to improve student learning. [Oklahoma Watch]   'WIN time': Data, early intervention drive rural school's reading success: Less than half an hour from the Texas border, state testing data indicate a rural, high-needs school district is outperforming most of its peers by focusing on individual students' literacy needs early and often. [NonDoc]   Health News   Oklahoma mental health department explores privatizing some behavioral care centers: The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is considering privatizing four of its behavioral health facilities. [Oklahoma Voice] OK Lawmakers ask if privatizing Behavioral Health Centers is the answer [KFOR] Criminal Justice News   Dan Kirby conviction vacated as court gives 'unusual' critique of jury instructions: Less than 17 months after a federal judge sentenced former Oklahoma Rep. Dan Kirby to serve 41 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his conviction Tuesday, ruling that jurors received inadequate clarification when they asked a question. [NonDoc]   Incarcerated women often don't have enough period products: Even where menstrual products are available, limited supplies, low-quality products, strict disciplinary rules and delays in medical care can result in incarcerated people facing potentially avoidable health issues or disciplinary write-ups. [Oklahoma Voice]   Local Headlines Tulsa Police, area agencies launch initiative to help noncommunicative drivers [Tulsa World] Tulsa Public Schools seeks voter approval for $609M bond package [Public Radio Tulsa] Broken Arrow finalizes city bond proposal [Tulsa World] You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail. In The Know is your daily briefing on Oklahoma policy-related news. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Some stories included here are behind paywall or require subscription. OK Policy encourages the support of Oklahoma's state and local media, which are vital to an informed citizenry. 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