The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 5

NEWS THE OKLAHOMAN NEWSOK.COM SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2016 5A Medicaid 'rebalancing' funding draws questions but no one with the Health Care Authority wants to say that, for fear it will bring out the opposition. The proposal also includes a health savings account piece that would reward participants for "healthy lifestyle choices" and encourage them to plan for future medical expenses. "I've gotten a lot of support for the idea," Gomez said. "But not a lot of agreement on how to fund it." state revenue shortfall -and that's on top of cuts totaling 13.5 percent in previous years. Gomez said the $100 million would be matched roughly 9-to-i by federal dollars.

But coming up with the $100 million when the state is looking at a $1.3 billion drop in general revenue for the coming budget year will be difficult. "The plan is solid" House Speaker Hickman, R-Fairview, said. "It is just agreeing on a revenue source." Hickman said there is a lot of interest in the proposal, and that it could ultimately save the state $700 million. Hickman and Bingman agreed the only way the cigarette tax can get through the Legislature is as a referendum, which means a vote of the people The state constitution requires revenue increases be approved by three-quarters of both the House and Senate, which is rare. "I just don't think there is any way you are going to get 75 percent of the Legislature to vote for a tax increase," Bingman said.

Hickman said getting to the required 76 votes in the House would require help from the minority Democrats, and he doesn't expect that. The "rebalancing" plan is, in essence, an alternative to the Affordable Care Act's expanded Medicaid, ing to stop accepting Medicaid patients. Some hospitals are already going out of business or becoming little more than outpatient clinics. "It impacts everyone in the community when a doctor leaves or a hospital closes," said authority Chief Executive Officer Nico Gomez. "We have to stabilize provider rates." Authority directors have authorized slashing provider rates up to 25 percent in the face of a deepening BY RANDY KREHBIEL AND BARBARA HOBEROCK Tulsa World It seems as if just about everyone in state government likes the Oklahoma Health Care Authority's Medicaid Rebalancing proposal.

Except for the part about $100 million in up-front costs. And the $180 million tax increase, even if it is for cigarettes. "I (like) the concept, yes," Senate President Pro Tern Brian Bingman said. "The concern is how do we pay for it? I think anytime you move people off Medicaid into Insure Oklahoma where everybody is paying something into the system, it is productive and meaningful for the patients or the people getting the insurance." Gov. Mary Fallin and House Speaker Jeff Hickman have also said they like the proposal in concept.

The Health Care Authority administers both the state Medicaid system and Insure Oklahoma, a program that subsidizes private health insurance premiums for low-income Oklahomans. To prevent the state's Medicaid system, known as SoonerCare, from collapsing, the authority proposes growing Insure Oklahoma. To do that, it is asking for a $1.50 increase in the cigarette tax to stabilize Medicaid reimbursement rates, and about $100 million in seed money by 2020 so it can add about 176,000 people in Insure Oklahoma. The money from the new cigarette tax would keep the Health Care Authority from cutting the amount it pays providers, who are already threaten LM starting at $2,995 installed Stay in your home and enjoy all of it. Ultra Thin Design Easy to Install Battery Operated to Work in Power Outages AmeriGlide FREE Consultations Locally Owned Visit Our Showroom at 1936 N.

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