OKLAHOMA CITY — A number of health groups filed suit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Thursday seeking an injunction against moving forward with managed care.
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the state’s Medicaid agency, recently announced contracts to four companies for more than $2 billion to proceed with managed care, despite opposition from lawmakers and health care organizations.
The new system of Medicaid management is intended to be operational by Oct. 1, but the suit seeks an injunction to prevent the state from moving forward with the privatization.
It says the statutes on which the Oklahoma Health Care Authority relies violate the nondelegation doctrine because they impermissibly delegate legislative authority to an administrative agency.
But “the Oklahoma Health Care Authority believes that applicable Oklahoma law provides full authority for its development of the plan to improve the present delivery of the Oklahoma Medicaid Program to the managed care system and will respond to the specific legal claims in due course,” said Melissa Richey, an OHCA spokeswoman.
Oklahoma Health Care Authority Chief Executive Officer Kevin Corbett and the agency are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs include the Oklahoma State Medical Association, the Oklahoma Dental Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Society of Anesthesiologists and the Oklahoma Chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics.
The groups want to put the process on hold until the Legislature can review and act on it.
Critics of privatized managed care say it will reduce provider rates, forcing many health care providers to drop Medicaid clients. They also say it was a “disaster” when it was tried in the state in the past.
Supporters say it is needed to increase positive health outcomes and save money.
“Our request of this court is about process,” said Dr. George Monks, Oklahoma State Medical Association president. “At this point, the Oklahoma Legislature has not voted on managed care, let alone funded it. We simply want to give our elected officials an opportunity before the state takes such far-reaching action.”
Oklahoma Dental Association President Dr. Paul Mullasseril said the groups want the court to decide whether unelected agencies, boards and commissions have the authority to commit the state to billions of dollars in future spending without approval of the Oklahoma Legislature, which must ultimately provide the funding.
Gov. Kevin Stitt has been a strong proponent of managed care.
“Oklahomans hired Governor Stitt to bring a fresh set of eyes to all areas of government, including health care delivery,” said Carly Atchison, a Stitt spokeswoman. “It is unacceptable that Oklahoma ranks among the worst states in the nation for health outcomes and the governor is determined to change that by moving to outcomes-based care.”
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Photos: Tulsa World’s People to Watch in 2021
People to Watch - Amy Brown
As Tulsa’s deputy mayor and, since November, its chief administrative officer, Amy Brown does a lot of “non-glamorous, behind-the-curtain work,” as she puts it.
But she’s also the administration’s point person on at least one very public project expected to attract national and even international attention in 2021 — the search for unmarked burials from Tulsa’s 1921 Race Massacre.
People to Watch - Sen. Kevin Matthews
State Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, is pictured in front of the Greenwood Rising history center being built at Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, the once and perhaps future crossroads of a thriving African American commercial district.
In 2017 Matthews introduced Senate Bill 17 as part of his goal to build a reminder of the 1921 Race Massacre and a memorial to what he calls “the most resilient people on this earth,” who built, rebuilt and persevered through many setbacks over past 100 years.
People to Watch - Ryan Walters
Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters may not get all interested parties on the same page in the coming year, but he hopes to at least get them in the same room.
Gov. Kevin Stitt nominated Walters for secretary of education in September as part of a cabinet reorganization. It is the first time Stitt has had a cabinet officer who is solely focused on education.
A McAlester native, Walters taught full-time in the McAlester Public Schools for eight years and continues teaching Advanced Placement courses there and in Millwood Public Schools, even after becoming executive director of Oklahoma Achieves, an education initiative of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce.
People to Watch - Aliye Shimi
“We have had many people turning to their faith traditions and faith communities at a time like this," said Aliye Shimi, executive director of the interfaith Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry.
"We see it any time there’s a disaster, everybody kind of turns to faith.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in congregations and their memberships during this time. Where you would have thought we’d have a drop off, it’s been an increase. Even in giving."
People to Watch - Becky Gligo
“I love this job,” said Becky Gligo, housing policy director for the city of Tulsa and soon to be full-time director of the nonprofit Housing Solutions. “I’m a full-blown housing nerd.” That’s good, because COVID-19 is turning what was already a problem in Tulsa into a potential crisis. In moving from the city to the lead agency for the area nonprofits fighting homelessness, Gligo (pronounced GLEE-go) will be right in the middle of the fray. With a federal eviction moratorium expiring at the end of the year and landlords feeling the strain of lost revenue, Gligo and others fear a wave of homelessness in 2021.
<&underline>Click here to read more.</&underline>People to Watch - Mike Bausch
Mike Bausch knows the pain most Tulsa restaurants, and just about all small businesses, have suffered this year.
Bausch and his brother Jim own a group of Tulsa restaurants that includes Andolini’s Pizza, STG Gelaterias and Prossimo Italian Ristorante. Between the economic downturn and the isolation measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Bausch enterprises have taken some lumps, says Mike.
But they’ve also found ways to survive and even improve.
People to Watch - Jennifer Murphy
Earlier this year, at about the same time many American cities roiled with anger over law enforcement tactics, Lt. Jennifer Murphy was given the job of convincing some skeptical Tulsans that the police could be their friends.
As part of his reorganization of the department, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin put Murphy in charge of a new Community Engagement Unit. The unit mostly combined initiatives already operating independently, but without much coordination or combined focus.
People to Watch - Joe Deere
Cherokee Tribal Councilor Joe Deere says his job calls for a lot of hats.
The one Tulsans are most likely to see him wearing is for community involvement.
Whether that’s organizing a food distribution at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, volunteering for the Special Olympics or figuring out how to improve access to tribal services, Deere has committed himself to helping people get through the COVID-19 pandemic and to raising the Cherokee Nation’s profile in Tulsa.
People to Watch - Lori Long
Lori Long picked a heck of a time to become executive director of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
After 12 years leading the Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges, Long took over northeastern Oklahoma’s largest food assistance network on March 30 — just in time for an unprecedented wave of demand caused by the COVID-19 epidemic.
In April, Long’s first month on the job, the food bank moved a record 3.8 million pounds of food. In September, it went over 4 million pounds.
People to Watch - Dr. David Kendrick
A high school job entering genome sequencing data introduced Dr. David Kendrick to medical science, so it’s perhaps not surprising that his career revolves around information systems.
To be sure, there is an M.D. after his name, with specialties in pediatrics and internal medicine. But at the top of a long list of job titles are chairman of the Department of Informatics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Tulsa and and chief executive officer of MyHealth Access Network.
That’s a mouthful that may not mean much to the average Tulsan — at least not until they wind up in the back of ambulance or a hospital emergency room.
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Barbara Hoberock
Capitol Bureau Writer
I have covered the Oklahoma Legislature since 1994. I cover politics, appellate courts, state agencies and the governor. I have worked for the Tulsa World since 1990. Phone: 405-528-2465
