Oklahoma City (KFOR) – A new scorecard Data from the Oklahoma State House of Representatives shows the state ranks in the bottom 10 nationally for health care.
Scorecard shows Oklahoma at 46th all over the country.
For Emma Morris, a policy analyst at the OK Policy Institute, the ranking comes as no surprise.
“Oklahoma has a fairly long history of underinvestment in many things that affect health,” Morris said.
Other scores for healthcare are:
- 31st In supply, i.e. personnel and medical facilities
- 43rd healthcare outcomes
- 47th with insurance coverage
Morris said the state is not prioritizing health care in its budget.
“If you compare what we spent in 2000 to what we spend today, we’re spending less than we did in 2000 after adjusting for inflation and population growth,” the analyst said.
During the 2022 regular session, Congress passed a bill that would give doctors incentives to keep their patients healthier. Senate Bill 1337 It creates a point-based system, so the healthier patients doctors get, the more funding they receive from the state.
Ada’s Republican congressman, Senator Greg McCourtney, drafted the bill.
“I think results and coverage have to go hand in hand,” says McCortney.
Coverage is weakest in rural areas, according to Dr. Mary Clarke. Clark is a past president of the Oklahoma Medical Association.
“We’ve done a lot to move it to a rural area and have coverage everywhere in Oklahoma,” the senator said, referring to what the law is trying to accomplish.
Dr. Clark does not support McCourtney’s privatization plans, but he agrees on several points.
“It’s not uncommon for people to drive an hour and a half to see a doctor,” Clark said of rural patients.
The need for more medical professionals is something doctors and politicians admit is a problem.
The second treaty between the two concerns individual health decisions.
“Our biggest problem is what I call the chicken fried steak problem,” McCourtney said. “We have bad eating habits in Oklahoma.”
Dr. Clark confirmed that people need to eat better and exercise more.
She added that more health professionals should be consulted when working on health policy, rather than relying on politicians on limited terms.
“You can’t just do one thing. Obesity will drop by 20 percent next year. That’s never going to happen,” Clark said.
The former president of the Oklahoma Medical Association said that achieving positive health outcomes requires consistent challenges over several years.
“It’s not just a miracle that everything works out and you end up number one,” the doctor said.
