Oklahoma Lawmakers Vote to Repeal Health Care Law
All five members of Oklahoma’s all-Republican delegation in the U.S. House voted Thursday to repeal the 2009 health care law. The 229-195 vote to repeal in the GOP-controlled House was symbolic. The Senate, controlled by Democrats, will not consider repeal.
Here are comments from members of the Oklahoma delegation:
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne: “I voted for the third time to fully repeal Obamacare.
“I have voted over 30 times to defund the flawed law, and I will continue to vote for measures that will dismantle the Affordable Care Act.…
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Rep. James Lankford Criticizes Administration Decision on Insure Oklahoma
Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, said Thursday he was disappointed in the Obama administration’s decision not to allow Oklahoma to continue a program that helped provide health insurance to employees of small businesses.
The state was informed this week that it will not get a waiver to continue the program under the health care law. The program, which has used revenue from the tobacco settlement to subsidize insurance at participating small businesses, will stop operating at the end of this year.…
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Gov. Mary Fallin Talks to Greta Van Susteren About Health Care Decisions
In an interview with FOX News host Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday, Gov. Mary Fallin explained why she didn’t want the state to set up a health care exchange and her decision to reject Medicaid expansion.
Here is a transcript provided by the show, “On the Record.”
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: Obamacare may be the law of the land but that is not stopping many Republican governors. They are still keeping up their fight.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin is one of those governors, and Oklahoma is just one of the states refusing to create its own health care exchange.…
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Obamacare
President Barack Obama said at the first presidential debate that he likes the term Obamacare, which has been used derisively for the past two years by opponents of the health care reform law.
And he defended it, saying it doesn’t mean a government takeover of health insurance but, rather, protection from insurance companies.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential nominee, defended the state law signed by him that, he said, was forged by bipartisan compromise. Obama said the federal law was modeled on that Massachusestts law.…
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Oklahoma Congressional Candidates Speak Out on Health Care Ruling
Some candidates seeking seats in the next Congress released statements on Thursday following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold most of the health care law.
In the 5th District, currently represented by Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, Democrat Tom Guild, of Edmond, said: “I am very pleased that the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. The fact that Republican and Bush Appointee Chief Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote to uphold the law is an important signal that the country needs to come together in a bipartisan fashion and create jobs and support education, pass the highway bill, and stop college student loans rates from doubling in two days.…
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Sen. Tom Coburn Releases New Report on Health Care Law
U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, a vocal critic of the health care law nearing its 2nd anniversary, released a report on Tuesday with Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barasso that examines some of the impacts and potential “side effects.”
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Former Congressional Budget Official Lauds Sen. Tom Coburn’s Medicare Plan
A former Congressional Budget Office analyst, now a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, has written a piece praising the Medicare reform plan unveiled Thursday by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, and Richard Burr, R-North Carolina.…
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President Barack Obama to Alter Birth Control Coverage Policy
President Barack Obama is scheduled to announce changes Friday to the controversial policy requiring faith-based institutions to provide health insurance coverage that includes contraception.
Here is a White House fact sheet on the policy change:
FACT SHEET: Women’s Preventive Services and Religious Institutions
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012. This new law will save money for millions of Americans and ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy.…
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Rep. James Lankford Speaks Out on Birth Control Action by Obama Administration
Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, says he is “outraged” by the Obama administration’s decision requiring birth control to be part of health insurance plans offered by some organizations with a religious affiliation, such as Catholic hospitals or Christian universities.
“I met with presidents of several of Oklahoma’s Christian-affiliated universities this week, and they expressed grave concern about their freedom to practice their faith and values without interference from the federal government,” Lankford said in a statement.
“I share this concern for them and religious organizations across our nation – church, para-church and educational institutions alike.…
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