Mitchell Talks: Joe Dorman & Medicaid Expansion

This week on Mitchell Talks, the News 9 Sessions Episode 50, Scott Mitchell and Aaron Brilbeck talk with Joe Dorman of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.

The state legislative session is still more than four months away, but lawmakers are already discussing issues. On the top of the list: Some form of medicaid expansion.

Backers say medicaid expansion could cover about 200,000 Oklahomans and bring up to $100 million in federal dollars into the state every year. The legislature has failed to move on medicaid expansion leading to an initiative petition that could change the state constitution to allow for it.

“The legislature blew it because it could have and should have passed something last year, and because they didn’t its going to go to an initiative petition. It’s going to pass in an initiative petition and the legislature is going to have less control the way it’s set up," said News 9’s Aaron Brilbeck.

Dorman responded, “It’s been a couple times now the legislature has not taken action on something and the people have gone out and circulated a petition and put something on the ballot. The legislature needs to get ahead of these issues.”

The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy is holding it’s annual Fall Forum this week. For more information on that log on to OICA.org

The governor and legislature are both working on plans for expansion. If the initiative petition gathers 178,000 signatures, the measure could be on the ballot in 2020.