Call your State Senator and tell them to Vote NO on Senate Bill 1466
This bill is bad for anyone who is on any state health insurance plan. This includes active and retired state employees, their spouses and children and also active and retired educators and local government employees. It makes the state offer employees, teachers and retirees HMO plans with fewer benefits and limited provider access at a reduced cost to the state. If passed, it will raise HealthChoice premiums even more than normal.
If passed, it would create a health plan with limited services. It would limit options and coverage networks for more than 200,000 Oklahomans by forcing state employees, educators, retirees and their families into an HMO with a limited health provider network. These plans are designed to avoid serving people who use more medical care. The bill’s’ author is trying to help fix Oklahoma’s budget by cutting your health care.
Only 20 to 25 percent of primary care doctors are in the current HMO provider network. There are even fewer specialty doctors, like Oncologists, in their network. The HMOs also do not have many local hospitals in their network, even though the HMOs claim to cover all of Oklahoma. If a hospital is “out of network”, the HMO will not pay for care at that hospital.
If signed in to law, this bill will weaken health care for state employees and retirees. OPEA has joined a coalition with Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA), Oklahoma Osteopathic Association (OOA), Oklahoma Hospital Association (OHA), Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Retired Educators Association (OREA), Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA), Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma (ACCO) and the County Officers and Deputies Association of Oklahoma (CODA) to fight SB1466.
It may be voted on as early as today on the Senate floor. It is important that you call your state senator today and tell them to vote NO on SB1466 by Sen. Kim David. If you don’t know your state senator, please call OPEA at (405) 524-6764 or click HERE..
