Health care facility says Medicaid is working, no need for a change
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — At Morton Comprehensive Health Center they’ve enrolled over 1,200 people in the state’s Medicaid program, with the recent expansion making it more accessible to those who need it.
“Yesterday, I went into our enrollment center that we have here and there was a patient that had never had insurance her whole life,” said Morton CEO Susan Savage.
But the recent talks of moving SoonerCare into the hands of private companies have Savage worried about the impact it could have on patients.
“The concern with the privatization to for-profit entities is that somewhere a profit has to be made,” said Savage. “So where does that occur? Historically, provider rates, reimbursement rates were cut.”
Oklahoma has a history with Medicaid managed care. It was tried in the 1990s and early 2000s and it didn’t work particularly well. The decision was made by the Medicaid agency with full support of the legislature and the governor at the time to do away with managed care companies,” said Dr, David Blatt, OU-Tulsa professor of Public Administration
Those cuts mean patients see their doctors for shorter times to meet quotas and some providers could decide not to accept Medicaid any longer, jeopardizing the quality of care the over one million Oklahomans enrolled in the program will get.
“We become pushed by the profit motive of the managed care companies. The goal here is for everyone to have quality health outcomes all across the system. Whether they’re Medicaid or commercially insured we all want that.”
Savage believes the current relationship with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority for Medicaid coverage is working out for both patients and providers and doesn’t see a reason to change it.