OHCA Says Data Shows Promise Amid SoonerSelect Transition

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority is sharing data from the first 60 days of it's transition to managed care for Medicaid recipients.

At the beginning of April the OHCA transitioned Medicaid members to SoonerSelect, where members had a choice of three health plans from private insurance companies. Now the OHCA says members are already reaping the benefits.

According to the agency, SoonerSelect takes Medicaid beyond basic health services for Oklahomans.

“One of the benefits of this public-private partnership between the state and these plans is that they have the ability to access a national network of opportunities,” Oklahoma Healthcare Authority CEO Ellen Buettner said.

YMCA vouchers, tutoring services, home-delivered meals and monetary benefits for food insecurity are just a few examples of value-added benefits that are only possible under a managed care program like SoonerSelect.

“The healthcare authority in our traditional model was not able to under our regulatory authority to offer these types of benefits,” Buettner said.

Since the transition in April OHCA's data shows 30,000 patients have received health risk screenings.

“We’ve seen over $230 million that has been paid out to folks just in the last 60 days,”Buettner said and added that this was part of the 1.3 million claims paid under SoonerSelect.

As the transition period comes to a close, the agency says it's confident the managed care program will provide more well-rounded healthcare to all SoonerSelect members.

“In addition to receiving just the base services, we really want to focus on changing the health trajectory for these million Oklahomans we’re serving,” Buettner said.

"Medicaid members in Oklahoma have until the end of the month to change and finalize their health plan with one of the three companies. More information is on the OHCA’s website.