OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill Thursday that his office says would not have provided a stable funding source for the SoonerCare 2.0 Medicaid expansion plan.
Stitt’s office said in a news release that Senate Bill 1046 only provided Supplemental Hospital Offset Payment Program funding for Fiscal Year 2021, which they say would leave the Medicaid expansion unfunded for Fiscal Year 2022 and make the state’s projected budget deficit even worse.
“From day one, I’ve said one-time funds are not the way pay for Medicaid expansion,” said Gov. Stitt. “This bill doesn’t fully fund SoonerCare 2.0 in the first year, and it doesn’t even consider funding for the second year. I will always protect the taxpayer and I will not sign unfunded mandates in the middle of a massive budget deficit.”
Stitt’s office said if the bill becomes law – which would require an override by both houses of the legislature – the state would have to deplete the revenue stabilization fund or make deeper cuts into other state agencies to fully fund SoonerCare 2.0.
State Senator Rob Standridge (R-Norman) supported the bill.
Standridge issued the following statement on May 15:
“Being a health care professional and having spoken out against the many efforts in the Capitol to sell off our Medicaid system to the highest out-of-state bidder, I was very proud to vote for and champion the passage of Senate Bill 1046. I’m proud to stand with Governor Stitt in launching SoonerCare 2.0. This will provide health care to our needy in a responsible way that provides citizens with a pathway to independence.
Utilizing the new Trump administration’s innovative Healthy Adult Opportunity initiative, the state can have flexibility under SoonerCare 2.0 to provide care in a way the State of Oklahoma and our citizens see best. I have always called for an Oklahoma First philosophy at the state Capitol, and SoonerCare 2.0 is not only Oklahoma First all the way, but it also will place Oklahoma as one of the first states in the nation to take advantage of President Trump’s state sovereignty-minded Healthy Adult Opportunity program.”
State Senator Rob Standridge
