EDITORIAL: Steele a powerful ally for Oklahoma Medicaid expansion backers

Oct. 27--As a member of the state Legislature, former Republican Rep. Kris Steele made expanding health care coverage for Oklahomans one of his priorities while also casting a wary eye at proposed federal solutions. Steele takes a different view of the latter today.

Steele, who heads The Education & Employment Ministry, an Oklahoma City nonprofit that assists ex-convicts on their return to society, said recently that he supports expanding Medicaid in Oklahoma. "I totally acknowledge my evolution on this issue," he said.

Under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, states may add able-bodied adults to their Medicaid rolls, with the federal government paying 90 percent of the costs and the state paying the rest. Most Republican-controlled states refused to expand Medicaid following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding the ACA in 2012, but several have done so in recent years.

Steele was speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2011 and 2012, and was among the many GOP members in the Legislature who criticized Obamacare after its passage.

However, in remarks Sept. 30 at a mental health forum, Steele said, "When people are healthier, they tend to commit less crime. When people are healthier, it tends to improve the quality of life."

Oklahoma is a rural state and "health care in rural Oklahoma is in crisis," Steele said. "If there's a way to bring some of our tax dollars back home to benefit the people who live in our state, I don't know why we wouldn't do that."

A chief concern about Medicaid expansion has been the price tag to the state -- estimates have ranged from $150 million per year to perhaps $374 million annually. Also, many states that have adopted full expansion have seen costs steadily rise as the number of enrollees has far exceeded estimates.

The expansion issue is now at the forefront in Oklahoma. A question could go before voters next year that would expand Medicaid to low-income adults 18 to 65 whose income doesn't exceed 133 percent of the federal poverty level. If approved, it would expand coverage to perhaps 200,000 uninsured residents.

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt opposes the proposed state question and has called for creating an Oklahoma plan. A legislative working group is exploring the issue.

As a House member, Steele authored a bill to help increase enrollment in the state's Insure Oklahoma program, in which participating employers and employees pay a part of their health insurance premiums, with the state paying the rest.

Steele became active in criminal justice reform during the latter part of his 12-year stay at the Legislature, and has remained so since leaving. He is a leading voice for the cause of reducing the incarceration rate and re-examining the state's approach to crime and punishment.

What will happen with Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma is unknown. But proponents of the idea have gained a powerful ally in Steele.

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