February 26, 2020 Issue, Page 2 of 9

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Page 4 The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Opinion Page A rapid about-face esThese for government efficiency are obvious. Taxes will go uj in Oklahoma. and so will health care costs “ElkCituNews events prove Okla- But health outcomes will re homa’s Medicaid-expansion main unchanged, as can b By Jonathan Small allow “moderate premiums effort has never been about Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 In the past decade, Repub- and work requirements” for improving health outcomes seen by the experience o other states that expander lican governors in several the estimated 628,000 able- or fiscal prudence. Instead, Medicaid like Colorado, In Child Advocacy states, eager for Obamacare federal dollars but aware bodied adults added to the welfare program, similar to state politicians and special- interest groups cared only diana and Arkansas. Indian: had to spike a teacher par their constituents opposed Pence’s expansion of Medic- about getting federal money. raise last year due to risiny Day at the Capitol Obamacare, adopted “modi- fied” versions of Medicaid aid in Indiana. But by Feb. 16, Oklahoma In the weeks ahead, we Medicaid costs, and citi will witness lawmakers tap zens in those states now fac: slated for May expansion that included very Watch reported that Stitt’s dance around another major higher medical bills, as eve minimal work requirements deputy secretary of health Obamacare issue: Embrac- left-wing organizations con or premiums. said the state would actually ing Medicaid expansion cede in Colorado. By Joe Dorman, CEO of Oklahoma Institute for Child means Oklahoma must come Advocacy Almost all subsequently expand Medicaid on July 1 up with as much as $374 mil- Oklahoma —_ Republican trashed those “conservative” with no work requirements say they must offer an “al Memberships Help Us Make a Difference for Children lion annually to pay for it at reforms, usually after left- or cost-sharing provisions. ternative” to a Medicaid ex The pace at the Oklahoma Legislature has been moving a time the state already faces pansion plan scheduled for: wing groups threatened to “After that, he said, the state quickly with the committees doing their work, along with a shortfall of $85 million. public vote this year, but s« sue. plans to apply for a federal some legislation being heard on the floor. Among the funding idea is, As the 2020 session of the Oklahoma Legislature con- The same pattern can now waiver that would incor- no surprise, a de facto tax far their alternative is almos be seen in Oklahoma, but ata porate many of the ideas in increase: a hospital “fee.” a carbon copy of the bal tinues, you may rest assured that the Oklahoma Institute much faster pace. Reported- Stitt’s SoonerCare 2.0 plan,” The Democratic leader of lot measure. A true alterna for Child Advocacy will maintain its effort to monitor the ly at the urging of Vice Presi- the Senate had the candor to tive would involve rejectin; bills being considered. We will aggressively support those dent Mike Pence and Centers Oklahoma Watch reported. Obamacare and focusing 01 which make Oklahoma an even better state for its children, for Medicare and Medic- Thus, proposed “conserva- note that fee (which is being tive” Obamacare/Medicaid touted by Republicans) will real solutions, not me-too and work with lawmakers to change or stop those we be- lieve will take the state in the wrong direction for its chil- aid Services Administrator expansion was abandoned in drive up the costs of premi- ism. Seema Verma, Gov. Kevin near-record time in Oklaho- ums for Oklahomans. Her Jonathan Small serves a dren. Stitt told lawmakers Feb. 3 ma-about three weeks. Sad- GOP counterparts change the president of the Oklahonu The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy has been is- that he wanted Oklahoma ly, the rapid abandonment of topic when that fact comes Council of Public Affair. suing Action Alerts about child-related bills on our legis- to expand Medicaid through promises made to Oklahoma up. The results of an Oklaho- (www.ocpathink.org<htp:/ lative agenda, the legislation both supported and opposed a federal waiver that would voters is what too often pass- ma embrace of Obamacare www.ocpathink.org/>). by OICA. If you are interested in receiving these updates, please go to oica.org to sign up to receive these alerts. We are thankful so many lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle and from both the House of Representa- Oklahoma’s secretive process of selecting judges needs sunshine tives and the Senate are so supportive of youth policies. It makes it much easier for us to do our advocacy work when policymakers are willing to discuss ideas for improving our state for children. By Benjamin Lepak members of the Oklahoma actually interview anyone. nominating commissions We are in the process of planning our annual “Child Ad- Oklahoma has an unnec- Bar Association (OBA), What’s more, unlike ev- online. vocacy Day at the State Capitol” on Wednesday, May 6. If essarily secretive judicial even though lawyers make ery town council and rural Others interview candi- you are interested in being a part of this, please reach out appointment process. Con- up less than one percent of school board in the state, the dates or deliberate in closec to Cory in our office at [email protected], by phone sequently, it is subject to Oklahoma’s population. JNC does not adhere to the session, but do everything at (405) 236-5437, or you will be able to sign up on our capture by special interests, This is troubling, since the Open Meetings Act, despiteelse in public. Perhaps the and the public has no mean- OBA exists to advance its being wholly supported by JNC should be allowed tc website at oica.org. We need people from across the state ingful way to scrutinize it. public funds and not spe- deliberate privately so mem. members’ interests, and its to visit in-person with their lawmakers and other officials It does not have to be this way. Other states are vastly membership is made up of cifically exempted from the bers can speak candidly on behalf of Oklahoma’s children. It is this citizen voice lawyers who regularly ap- Act. We have no idea what without harming candidates which matters to children and helps move our state in the more transparent, and oper- pear in front of the judges the is discussed among JNC reputations, but should the ate with consistent rules and INC selects. It is unsurpris- right direction. members, questions asked of entire proceeding be secret? ‘We also are looking for youth organizations to collab- public accountability. ing, then, that the Oklahoma candidates, or of outside lob- Appointments to Okla- orate with us by attending, displaying the work done by When a judicial vacancy Supreme Court regularly bying of members. arises in Oklahoma, the Ju- homa appellate courts have your organization, and bringing young people from your legislates from the bench, This is no way to appoint effectively become lifetime dicial Nominating Commis- often favorably to the finan- program to learn about the process and meet lawmakers. sion (INC) gets the first veto cial interests of trial lawyers. one of the three branches of appointments. — Candidate These young people carry the strongest message as they our state government. privacy does not outweigt over candidates, narrowing The conflict of interest pre- Nearly all other state nom- the public’s interest in en- are the ones who are impacted by the proposed bills under the pool to a list of three. sented by the lawyer domi- consideration. inating commissions have suring the process is above The governor is required to nated process is made worse written rules and require I also want to thank all those organizations who have appoint from that list, giving by the JNC’s closed process. advance public notice of board. signed up to be OICA members, and those individuals who Some sunshine for Okla- the JNC considerable power The JNC does not put its meetings. Other states also have supported programs dear to them. Former New York over the process, as the gov- votes on the record where invite public comment on homa’s judicial selectior City Mayor Michael Bloomberg contributed the member- ernor’s hands are tied if the the public can see. the candidates. Even better, process is in order. ship fees for 15 Oklahoma youth programs, so thank you JNC sends him candidates Oklahoma law provides a majority of state nominat- Benjamir to him for this donation! he dislikes. virtually no rules of opera- ing commissions hold open Lepak<hitps://1889institute Each youth program member of OICA is allowed to Lawyers enjoy dispro- tion for the JNC, If the INC public meetings. For many, org/benjamin-lepak-2> is name a young person from the group to serve on our new- portionate influence in this follows any written rules at this includes candidate inter- Legal Fellow at 1889 In ly-formed youth advisory committee called the Youth Par- process. Forty percent of all, they are not public. It is views. Several states stream stitute. He can be reachec liament. This organization will allow young people to learn the JNC’s members must be not even required by law to the proceedings of their at — blepak@1889institute how to be an effective advocate. After all, these young people are those for whom we work and those to whom we will entrust the leadership of our state sooner than many of us - and they - realize. We are able to do all of this only because of the contributions of dedicated and resolute in- We Can’t Keep Shirking Mental Health Care dividuals, organizations, and businesses who invest in our efforts with memberships and support. Please go to our website at oica.org and learn more about our work, and if you are so moved, we would be honored to count your name among those who fight every day for kids as mem- By Liat Jarkon is part of a broader public- gled with an eating disorder. Consequently, many pa- bers of OICA. Each week we will share a statistic from the The latest trend among health crisis. More than 17 She tried entering an inpa- tients are forced to visi! adolescents is deadly. million Americans had at tient treatment program, but providers who don’t accep: OICA Daily Desktop Calendar. Our child-related statistic, The suicide rate for people least one major depressive even after losing 60% of her sponsored this week by BancFirst, is: More than 1 in 6 ages 10 to 14 tripled between episode in 2017. The nation’s original body weight, Medic- their insurance, which ofter Oklahoma high school students (17%) are not graduating 2007 and 2017, according to suicide rate has jumped 33 aid wouldn’t cover it unless means facing out-of-pocke! on time. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ a new report from the Cen- percent since 1999. And the she lost another 10 pounds, costs. Patients with drug-use ters for Disease Control. rate of death from drug over- or entered a psychiatric unit. disorders pay over $1,20C Suicide is now the second dose rose by nearly 10 per- She eventually enrolled in Letter to editor leading cause of death for Americans ages 10 to 24. cent between 2016 and 2017. The rise in these and oth- another plan, but had to ar- gue with them to cover care. more on average for out-of: network care annually thar Dear Sen. Mitt Romney: For years, doctors like me er “deaths of despair” has Insurers also make it patients with diabetes. have stressed that similar to caused USS. life expectancy hard for patients to find in- Refusing to cover men- lam a registered independent. I did not vote for Clinton any physical illness, mental to drop for three consecutive network mental health pro- or Trump. Bless you Brother Romney. I love you for your illness can lead to harmful years -- the longest decline in fessionals. A survey by the tal health care is absurd honesty and patriotism. I will be registering Republican consequences. Moreover, acentury. National Alliance on Mental It’s also not cost effective soon, I believe you stood up against a coalition of cor- when left untreated, mental The insurance industry’s Health highlights this. More Treating chronic diseases is ruption. Thank you for standing up for equal justice and illness can potentiate physi- resistance to provide ad- than a third of respondents expensive. In 2016 alone, i! the security of our nation. I believe many of your fellow cal disease, resulting in ex- equate mental health cov- said they had difficulty find- pensive treatment needs. erage has exacerbated this ing a therapist who took their cost the United States $3.7 Republicans are harboring a criminal and unrepentant liar. But all this often goes un- crisis. Many insurers don’t insurance. Meanwhile, just 9 trillion. If insurers investec Spiritually, I believe you stood in the light of love and le- acknowledged -- particularly cover mental health services. percent had trouble finding more on mental health care gally stood up for our supreme law. by the insurance industry. Those that do are legally re- an in-network primary care it may slash spending or Please help us call the president out as a coward if he Even in the midst of a youth quired to make those benefits doctor. chronic diseases over time. will not debate William Weld. If he is such a law enforce- suicide epidemic, most pay- “comparable” to physical This disparity exists be- ment president, he should be proud to debate the great ers erect barriers to treatment health coverage. But insurers cause insurance companies By expanding menta Republican Goy. William Weld. He has the top law en- for common mental illnesses have found ways to circum- pay mental health profes- health coverage, insurers car just to cut costs. vent that requirement. sionals less than they pay save money — and more im- forcement credentials of all candidates. He was an Asst. This is more than irre- For instance, insurers often other providers. In 2017, pri- Attorney General for Ronald Reagan. Help us call Dishon- portantly, lives. sponsible -- it’s counterpro- refuse to cover treatments mary care reimbursements est Donald out. Force him onto the debate stage before the ductive. Mental illness can ranging from therapy to an- were about 24 percent higher Liat Jarkon, D.O., M.P.H. general election. Once again, I salute you for your brave lead to serious and costly tidepressants on the grounds than behavioral reimburse- is the director of the Center patriotism and stand for the truth. I believe you are one of conditions. If insurers really that they aren’t “medically ments. And, in 2014, private for Behavioral Health anc wanted to keep costs down, necessary.” insurers paid mental health our great leaders. they’d expand coverage for Consider the tale of a providers 13 to 14 percent Assistant Professor of Fam Jeff Pickens mental health services. woman in New Mexico, as less than what Medicare paid ily Medicine at NYIT College Stillwater, OK. The spike in vouth suicide revorted bv NPR. She strus- for the same services. of Osteovathic Medicine.