State Supreme Court rules Stitt Medicaid plan invalid under Oklahoma law

TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the implementation of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Medicaid plan, according to an opinion released on Tuesday.

The court ruled 6-3 that the managed Medicaid plan couldn’t move forward as the Oklahoma Health Care Authority did not have the power to implement managed care.

A lawsuit to stop the plan for going into effect sent it to the State Supreme Court to rule on.

Oklahoma’s current care program operates as “fee-for-service” while Stitt’s plan would create a fixed dollar amount per month per Medicaid patient for provider services contracted with managed care organizations.

The court determined current Oklahoma law doesn’t give OHCA authority, thus invalidating managed care contracts and deciding that Medicaid-expanding State Question 802 did not allow for managed care.

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