Health Care Bill Would Cost $128 Million Per Year

The federal health care bill being pushed through Congress by U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration would create $128 million per year in additional unfunded federal mandates for the state of Oklahoma as the state copes with budget shortfalls, an Oklahoma Health Care Authority official has told Congresswoman Mary Fallin.

Fallin On The House Floor This Morning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2zi91SKiS8.

That budget-busting revelation, and the fact the bill would expand those covered under the Oklahoma Health Care Authority by about 40 percent, came after gubernatorial candidate Fallin (right, on the campaign trail) wrote asking about the impact of the bill.

Nico Gomez, deputy chief executive officer of the Health Care Authority, responded in a letter to Fallin that analysis of the bill indicates it would begin costing the state $128 million per year by the third year it is effect. He added that "none of the bills" that have been discussed "provide full federal funding."

Gomez estimates the measure would increase the number of those covered by "Medicaid, CHIP and longterm care" by 318,600, or about 40 percent. Now, an estimated 800,000 are included.

The Peolosi-et al health care bill includes $34 billion in unfunded state mandates, which Fallin says would threaten the "fiscal stability of the states."

“Increasing access to health care for the uninsured and underinsured is an important undertaking, but we cannot do so at the expense of the fiscal stability of states. Most state agencies and departments in Oklahoma took a 7 percent cut this fiscal year, and all have received 5 percent cuts in state appropriations because revenue collections came in 26 percent below first quarter expectations. It is critical to know the impact Speaker Pelosi’s bill will have on our state, especially under these economic conditions,” Fallin said.

Earlier in the week, Congressman Tom Cole asked Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee and House Speaker Chris Benge to assess the cost of the plan.

"It's abundantly clear that Speaker Pelosi either hasn't asked or doesn't care how states are affected by her expensive health care plan," Cole said. "Every state in the nation is struggling with severe budget shortfalls and yet the liberals in Congress are prepared to shift $34 billion in unfunded mandates to state governments. And since most state governments are not allowed to spend money they don’t have, this will result in draconian cuts in vital state services and/or steep tax increases – neither of which is acceptable to me, Pro-Tem Coffee, or Speaker Benge.”

"This legislation will be a disaster for Oklahoma," Coffee said. "We’re plugging leaks in the dam already, and these unfunded mandates would cause it to burst. Our fiscal situation, while grim, is not nearly as dire as most other states. This is a bipartisan, multi-state issue. The results will be the same in states led by Republicans and Democrats alike. I urge my counterparts in other states to make their voices heard within their respective Congressional delegations."

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