Providers and hospitals are outraged over the Oklahoma Health Care Authority's decision to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates by 25 percent, shaving nearly $237 million from the state's fiscally strapped budget, reports Tribune Star.
The funding cuts will affect more than 46,000 hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, medical equipment suppliers and nursing homes. More than 800,000 Oklahomans, or about 20 percent of the state's population, rely on state-managed Medicaid for health coverage.
Craig Jones, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association, said the cuts will devastate the state healthcare system. "We will have physicians who no longer choose to see Medicaid patients," Mr. Jones told Tribune Star.
Oklahoma Health Care Authority CEO Nico Gomez acknowledged the serious impacts Medicaid cuts will have on the state's critical access hospitals and nursing homes, such as facility closures and staff migration.
It's unlikely the state's larger hospitals and health systems will close facilities, however they too are bracing for serious financial effects. For instance, Norman (Okla.) Regional Health System and Duncan (Okla.) Regional Hospital would lose out on $4.5 million and $2 million a year, respectively.
Gov. Mary Fallin rejected expanding Medicaid in 2012 and has not proposed an alternate model to provide care for the state's low-income residents. The state has reduced Medicaid reimbursement rates by 17 percent since July 2014.