Before we get to the health care facts I’d like to give you all one last reminder about the OK Policy State Budget Summit.  This is THE BEST opportunity we advocates will have to learn about how our resources are being invested, what lies ahead, and how to take this information and translate it into action, this year. You can register to attend between now and Tuesday, January 24th OR you can at least take a moment to remind your legislators and their legislative assistants that they have been invited to attend.  You can find who represents you at this link and you can send them details about the summit and ask them to be there to represent you. Oklahoma is in a budget crisis and we all need to know more about how to fix it.

Upcoming Together Oklahoma events can be found on our community calendar.  

Health Care Funding in Oklahoma
(#Betterok Budget Bootcamp)

Health is decided by far more than the health care one receives. Some estimates argue that health care is responsible for perhaps 10 percent of one’s actual health, with factors such as employment, food insecurity, housing, literacy, and many more all playing a part in determining health outcomes. However, being able to see a doctor does play an important role in health – and in Oklahoma, many people can’t. Without deliberate commitment to fixing this from our state leadership, Oklahoma’s health will continue to fall behind the rest of the nation. Here are eight things you should know about how we got here and what we can do now and you can follow this link for more details about each of these 8 facts about health care funding.

1. : Overall health in Oklahoma has improved recently, though not as quickly as elsewhere
2. : Health services are an essential focus of government
3. : Medicaid is a cost-effective health insurance program that especially helps Oklahoma kids
4. : Oklahoma provides nearly the lowest funding for mental health treatment in the nation despite high rates of mental illness
5. : Of the state’s health agencies, the Department of Health has been cut most in recent years
6. : Oklahoma’s uninsured rate has decreased as a result of the Affordable Care Act – but not nearly as much as it could have
7. : High uninsured rates are threatening rural hospitals
8. : Oklahoma has proven policy options to improve our health

You can learn more about all of these on the full health care funding in Oklahoma blog post, share the 8 facts above along with our snazzy graphs from Together Oklahoma on Facebook and @TogetherOK on Twitter, and make sure your legislators know you care.  

We still have a small window of time between now and the beginning of session when legislators may be easier to find than they may be once bills start flying across their desks.  Take advantage of this opportunity and introduce yourself.  Remember, sometimes it is not about which legislators you know but which legislators know you!