Plan is a bad policy move for Oklahoma

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the physical and financial health of many Oklahoma families. Due to the sharp decline in state revenue, a $1.3 billion budget shortfall loomed over the Legislature. Most state agencies were forced to take a 4% cut. Despite these new fiscal realities, Gov. Kevin Stitt is moving forward on his plan to grow state government and expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults.

The state's Medicaid agency projects Oklahoma will need and additional $164 million to implement Medicaid expansion, but these figures do not appear to legitimately account for the certain influx of additional enrollees due to COVID-19. Forced to provide funding for Stitt's plan to expand, the Legislature raised $134 million through an increased hospital provider tax and funded the rest by tapping savings, despite the fact no one has seen the results of the long-promised state audit of Medicaid rolls.

Make no mistake: All Oklahoma families will pay for this “tax” on hospitals. Funding expansion through a hospital provider tax will only push more costs onto all Oklahoma families through increased premiums. Even Democratic presidential nominee

Joe Biden has called this provider tax a “scam.” Expanding a program not shown to markedly improve health outcomes is the worst policy move for Oklahoma. We have all made tough decisions to deal with COVID-19. It's time for our political leaders to do likewise. Gov. Stitt should rescind his application to expand Medicaid and reject this “scam” tax as a revenue source.

Kaitlyn Finley, Edmond

Finley is a policy research fellow at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank.