State Rep Wants To Restore Legislative Oversight For OHCA

A proposed piece of legislation aims to move the Oklahoma Health Care Authority back under legislative oversight.

On Tuesday, Democratic State Representative Monroe Nichols plans to announce the legislation at the state capitol.

The move comes after Governor Kevin Stitt removed Dr. Jean Hausheer and Dr. Laura Shamblin from the board last weekend.

Replacing them with Susan Dell'Osso the former Chief Innovation Officer for Integris Health, and Gino DeMarco, a former senior executive at a Medicaid consulting and software company.

The Oklahoma State Medical Association expressed concern about the decision saying it may have implications for how Medicaid funds are administered in Oklahoma.

The 2 board members removed by Governor Stitt voted to table a rule that could be made to allow private companies to administer Medicaid funds.

It seems Representative Nichols has similar concerns. He released a statement saying in part, “The governor shouldn't have even been in the position to allow politics to interfere with the delivery of state services. Fortunately, there is an easy legislative fix when it comes to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.”

The press conference is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.