Oklahoma voters narrowly approve Medicaid expansion

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By SEAN MURPHY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma voters narrowly decided on Tuesday to expand Medicaid health insurance to tens of thousands low-income residents, becoming the first state to amend its Constitution to do so.

With 100% of precincts reporting unofficial results, State Question 802 passed by less than 1 percentage point. The question fared well in metropolitan areas, including Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but was overwhelmingly opposed in rural counties.

Idaho, Maine, Nebraska and Utah have all expanded Medicaid through ballot questions, but did so by amending state statutes, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Amending the Oklahoma Constitution will prevent the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has resisted Medicaid expansion for a decade, from tinkering with the program or rolling back coverage. Missouri voters also will decide on a constitutional amendment on Aug. 4.



FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2019, file photo, supporters of Yes on 802 Oklahomans Decide Healthcare, calling for Medicaid expansion to be put on the ballot, carry boxes of petitions into the office of the Oklahoma Secretary of State in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma voters will decide Tuesday, June 30, 2020, whether to expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of low-income residents and become the first state to amend their Constitution to do so. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/dc52dffc2b8792e88aeec28b9569a041

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Should be a good sign, if a red state like Oklahoma is OK with bits of Obamacare

then Trump's attempt to destroy it totally will be unpopular.

[bobbieinok]

2. Approved in OKC and Tulsa, overwhelming no in rural areas

[RussBLib]

10. the yahoos are still strong in the remote country

when you live in a city, you learn how to cooperate a little more by your frequent exposure to other people.

[Alliepoo]

3. Wouldn't you think

That the folks in rural areas might be more in need of health insurance? I just don’t get why they vote against their own best interest. That their apparent hatred of Democrats and liberal programs is so strong that the rural folks would want to deny themselves and their loved ones access to better healthcare just boggles my mind. Again and again and again!

[Bigredhunk]

4. Here you go

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html

[Lulu KC]

5. +1

I once heard a talk by a former state rep in Missouri, a Republican, who had been trying and trying to get his peers (who of course dominate the statehouse) to accept the ACA $ and Medicaid expansion for Missouri. This was 2012 or 2013. He gave excellent analysis about how the biggest need for the program was in rural counties, about how often the hospitals were the biggest employers in those counties, and how there was more use of other federal "welfare" programs in those counties.
Nope. Why? Association with Obama. And we all know what that means.
He finally left that role behind--a secure incumbent--because he was so frustrated by the lack of mathematical skills! I can still see him writing on a white board, hands up in the air.
It left a huge impression on me. (Not enough that I can remember his name, though! :chuckle

[still_one]

6. Glad it passed, but amazed that it was so close

[oasis]

7. Those who voted against it have a moral duty to refuse services. Free up

those tax dollars for "Trump's Wall". dumbshits.

[lettucebe]

8. Does anyone know the reasoning for opposing it?

I have no clue why people would vote against it, so if anyone has the counter argument, I'd love to hear it.

[not_the_one]

9. Brainwashing by FOX, and the republicans

Anything that is "liberal" (f*gs, baby killers), or is any way connected to Obama (pssst, OMG there is/was a n****r in the WHITE house), all in the name of GAWD.

But they will be first in line to take advantage of it when it IS available.

[area51]

11. In the 21st century, we still

don't have a right to healthcare.

A little history on healthcare reform in the US.