ISSUES
Oklahoma ranks 49th out of 51 in overall healthcare performance—and 48th in affordability and access—according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 report, highlighting the serious challenges facing our state. Too many Oklahomans are uninsured, skip necessary care due to cost, or struggle with medical debt.
For example, 16% of residents lack health insurance—well above the national average—and over 10% have medical debt in collections, nearly double the national rate.
Families pay more for basic services, while employers and employees face rising insurance premiums, sometimes resulting from misguided laws. These high costs directly impact the well-being of our communities, forcing people to delay or avoid the care they need. For too many in Oklahoma, healthcare remains out of reach. That’s why we fight for smart policies that expand access and make healthcare more affordable for every Oklahoman.
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON:
Prevent Healthcare Premium Hikes
We work to protect access to affordable coverage for all Oklahomans. For example, OKFAHC works with partners statewide to protect the enhanced federal tax credits, which will expire at the end of 2025 and cause premiums to spike for everyone, especially the over 300,000 Oklahomans who buy their insurance on the ACA marketplace. We also oppose other policies that would drive up premiums, such as Senate Bill 1067, which proposed setting ambulance reimbursement rates too high, threatening increased costs for families and businesses.
TAKE ACTION
Lower Prescription Drug Prices
We fight for policies that lower prescription drug costs, and oppose bills that would make prescription drugs even more expensive. For example, we worked to oppose state bills that would add hundreds of millions in new costs by raising pharmacy dispensing fees, eliminating cost controls, and shifting the burden onto families, small businesses, and taxpayers, all to benefit special interests.
Limit Costly Unfunded Mandates
Laws that sound good on paper often shift costs onto families, raising premiums, out-of-pocket expenses, and medication prices for everyone. Oklahomans are already facing high healthcare costs—and new mandates could make premiums even worse if passed without oversight. Instead, advocate for commonsense laws to bring transparency and accountability to decisions that affect Oklahoman families and small businesses.
Protect Affordable Dental Care
We oppose legislation that makes dental coverage more expensive and less accessible for Oklahomans. For example, we successfully opposed House Bill 1694, which would have imposed a mandatory “medical loss ratio” on dental plans and created higher out-of-pocket costs and fewer affordable dental options for families.
Require Transparency: Prevent Surprise Billing
Oklahomans deserve clear, upfront healthcare prices—not surprise bills or hidden fees. That’s why we support legislation that requires healthcare providers to publicly post prices and give patients simple, itemized bills. We opposed hidden-cost policies like a previous Oklahoma House bill that would have brought freestanding ERs to Oklahoma. These facilities are known for price gouging and confusing billing, and a 2022 study in JAMA found that counties with the most freestanding ERs saw median medical debt in those locations rise by more than $570.