No State Fee on Oklahoma Medicaid Claims

August 26, 2010

It was reported earlier today that a state law meant to raise revenue for Oklahoma’s Medicaid program has been overturned.

In a ruling which was posted on the state Supreme Court’s website, it was said that the law, which set a 1 percent fee on claims paid by private health insurers and companies with self-insured health plans, was in violation of the state’s Constitution. The request to overturn the law came from State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland.

Michael Ridgeway, an attorney for the Insurance Department, argued that the bill never received the necessary three-fourths vote when it passed the House and Senate votes.

Holland’s efforts were supported by the Independent Insurance Agents of Oklahoma, which commended the Supreme Court for its ruling, with the group’s president and CEO Dan Ramsey stating in a press release, “Commissioner Holland was correct in filing this lawsuit to protect Oklahoma policyholders from seeing health insurance premiums increase by an estimated $78 million annually as a result of this legislation and we appreciate her efforts to take this aggressive position.”