Oklahoma Medicaid agency seeks $200 million funding boost

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The agency that oversees Medicaid in Oklahoma is requesting an additional $200 million, mostly to maintain funding for its programs that provide health care for low-income residents.

Becky Pasternik-Ikard, the new chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, outlined her agency’s budget during a hearing on Tuesday before the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.

The agency is one of the five in Oklahoma that receive nearly 80 percent of all state-appropriated funding. The others are the departments of education, transportation, higher education and human services.

The Health Care Authority received nearly $1 billion in state appropriations last year and was one of the few agencies to receive a funding increase amid a $1.3 billion shortfall.

Lawmakers this year are facing another shortfall of about $870 million.