OK Adds 120K New Medicaid Enrollees Due to Medicaid Expansion

The state of Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion has improved access to coverage for its residents, CMS announced.

"Medicaid is a lifeline for millions of people in this country and a step in the long road to achieving health equity by providing access to essential health care," said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. "Oklahoma is now a model for other states looking to expand health coverage to those who need it most."

Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion model went into effect on June 1, 2021. Approximately 190,000 residents became newly eligible for Medicaid when the state did so and since that day approximately 120,000 Oklahomans have been determined eligible for and enrolled in Medicaid coverage.

Eligible individuals are between the ages of 19 and 64 and have an income that is at 133 percent of the federal poverty level or less.

While HHS and CMS celebrated the influx of Oklahoman Medicaid enrollees, the press release acknowledged that another 70,000 individuals who are now eligible for Medicaid under the state’s Medicaid expansion model have not yet applied.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra pointed to the provisions in the American Rescue Plan as an opportunity for states still considering whether to expand their Medicaid programs.

“I want to congratulate Oklahoma on joining the ranks of states that are bringing quality health coverage to our neighbors and families," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.  "I encourage the remaining 13 states to look at the opportunities included in the American Rescue Plan and join us, so that every person eligible can get covered.”

Under the American Rescue Plan, states that have adopted Medicaid expansion can receive a five percentage point increase in their federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP).

“In addition, states that expand will also qualify for the 90% federal matching funds currently available through the ACA for medical services for Medicaid expansion enrollees,” the press release added.

For Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, that means the federal government will contribute almost $500 million to cover beneficiaries’ costs over two years.

The state of Oklahoma had resisted expanding its Medicaid program for years until the coronavirus pandemic struck the US in 2020. Almost exactly a year before the law would go into effect in 2021, voters passed a decision to expand the program by state ballot. The margin was razor-thin and fell largely along urban-rural demographic lines.

About a month after Oklahoma passed Medicaid expansion, the neighboring state of Missouri followed its lead. 

As in Oklahoma, the contest over this law was fierce, passing by a popular vote of 53 percent. Medicaid expansion in this state is expected to offer access to coverage to nearly 230,000 Missourians. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2021.

Researchers have argued that Medicaid expansion could have provided states with needed support during the coronavirus pandemic.

An Urban Institute study suggested that states that have not yet expanded their Medicaid programs could have reduced coronavirus-related uninsurance during the pandemic if they had adopted Medicaid expansion.

However, the link between coronavirus-era unemployment rates and Medicaid enrollment has not been substantiated, according to a Health Affairs study.

A separate study found that if Texas had expanded its Medicaid program, the state might have received approximately $5.4 billion in federal funding, in addition to lowering uninsurance. The research has been used to argue against a common retort to Medicaid expansion which is that states want to avoid higher Medicaid spending.

After years of heated debate over the issue, however, the question of whether or not to expand Medicaid finally has been decided for Oklahoma and the 120,000 newly eligible Medicaid enrollees.