CONTACT:
Jennifer Monies, Press Secretary
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Office of House Speaker Chris Benge
Office: 405-962-7679
Cell: 405-550-8144
Email: jenniferm@okhouse.gov
OKLAHOMA CITY (July 7, 2008) – House Speaker Chris Benge has appointed a bipartisan group of seven lawmakers to serve on a special Health Care Reform Task Force.
He has also named a 30-member advisory committee that will assist the lawmakers.
“This task force will take a comprehensive look at our health care system and the problems fueling growth in the number of uninsured Oklahomans,” said Benge, R-Tulsa. “The group’s emphasis will be to find common-sense solutions that empower families, not creating a government-run, single-payer system that simply grows bureaucracy.”
A newly released survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly one in three Oklahomans younger than age 65 does not have health insurance – a larger percentage than any other state in the nation.
“It would be a mistake to spend our time simply expanding benefits for those fortunate enough to already have coverage when so many have no insurance at all,” Benge said. “We don’t want health care coverage to simply be attractive; it needs to be affordable.”
The task force members will be charged with studying efforts in other states and gathering testimony from national experts in the heath care field as part of their work.
The group’s first meeting is scheduled July 24th and will feature Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute in Washington, D.C., as well as officials with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
The Task Force members are
- State Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove and task force co-chair;
- State Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee and task force co-chair;
- State Rep. Ron Peterson, R-Broken Arrow;
- State Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa;
- State Rep. Lisa Billy, R-Purcell;
- State Rep. Wes Hilliard, D-Sulphur; and
- State Rep. Ben Sherrer, D-Pryor.
“The purpose of this initiative is to identify and reduce the barriers to affordable health care coverage. Our goal is to improve the overall quality of life for the people of Oklahoma,” Steele said. “Increasing the number of citizens with insurance would improve health outcomes and bend the trend of rising insurance premiums within our state.”
Cox, the only medical doctor serving in the Legislature, said the task force must find new ways to empower patients.
“I’ve seen first-hand how too many people use the emergency room for routine care simply because they don’t have a primary care physician,” Cox said. “That drives up the cost of insurance for everyone without increasing benefits for anyone. If we can help those people obtain insurance and have easy access to preventative care, we’ll see a dramatic change in Oklahoma’s health statistics.”
The advisory committee – which includes consumer advocates, businessmen, and medical officials from all corners of the state – will assist members of the task force as they seek to reduce the number of uninsured Oklahomans and rein in the growing cost of health care.
The advisory committee includes the following:
- Lt. Gov. Jari Askins
- Marianna Bacarach, an emergency room physician with the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration Medical Center
- David Blatt, chair of the Alliance for Oklahoma's Future and director of policy for the Oklahoma Policy Institute
- Kevin Blaylock, CEO of the Oklahoma Spine Hospital
- Richard Boone, president of St. John Medical Center Foundation
- Laura Brookins, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Health Plans
- Dr. Mike Crutcher, commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Health
- Craig Jones, president of the Oklahoma Hospital Association
- Rick Ferguson, CEO of the Oklahoma Surgical Hospital
- Mike Fogarty, CEO of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority
- Melissa Gower, group leader for health services for the Cherokee Nation
- Heather Griffin, executive director for the Center for Legislative Excellence
- John Harvey, CEO of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital
- Jake Henry, CEO of the St. Francis Health System
- Joe Hodges, president of St. Anthony Hospital
- Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland
- Stan Hupfeld, CEO of Integris Health
- Phil Lakin, executive director for the Tulsa Community Foundation
- Bert Marshall, group vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma
- Larry Mocha, president of APSCO, Inc. and chairman for the Center for Legislative Excellence
- Dr. Judy Goforth Parker, a Chickasaw legislator
- Anne Roberts, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
- Matt Robison, vice president of small business and workforce development for The State Chamber
- Mark Rogers, CEO of Pushmataha Hospital
- Dean Schirf, vice president of governmental relations for the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce
- Barry Smith, Of Council to Barkley Law
- Hopper Smith, president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
- Steve Turnbo, executive committee member of the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Ron Webb, CEO of Valley View Regional Hospital
- Brent Wilborn, policy liaison for the Oklahoma Primary Care Association