Oklahoma Senate stops bill to cut 111,000 from Medicaid

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — A plan to remove about 111,000 Oklahoma residents with dependents from Medicaid to free up money for other health care needs has been derailed in the Oklahoma Senate.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 5-3 on Monday against the bill by Republican Sen. Brian Crain of Tulsa.

The bill would have eliminated Medicaid eligibility for any non-pregnant, able-bodied adult younger than 65. Most would be single parents with preschool-age children.

But implementation of the measure would have been dependent on the federal government's approval of a waiver that would permit the state to exclude those current recipients from the Medicaid program.

Nearly 800,000 of Oklahoma's 3.9 million citizens are enrolled in Medicaid.