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House votes to apply citizenship verification to Medicaid applicants in Oklahoma
Summary
House bill 44 23, presented by Speaker Hilbert, would apply the same citizenship/immigration verification approach to Medicaid through the Oklahoma Health Care Authority; the House passed the measure after similar pro/con arguments about fiscal responsibility and impacts on children.
Speaker Hilbert presented "House bill 44 23," saying it applies the same verification principles used in the previous bill to Medicaid through the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. Supporters emphasized the state’s budget pressures and argued federal guidance supports preventing federal funds from covering ineligible individuals. Opponents countered the bill could harm children's access to care and again questioned whether it would materially reduce costs or fix administrative error rates.
Representative McCain and other opponents repeated concerns that the bill would impose consequences on children for their parents' immigration status and that it was primarily symbolic rather than a substantive fix to agency error or budget issues. Hilbert cited federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidance and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies to argue states must protect taxpayer funds and that Medicaid should not be a backdoor to subsidize ineligible residents. He also referenced the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s budget request as context for fiscal pressure: "we got to hear from the Oklahoma Health Care Authority and their budget request this year for a $494,000,000 recurring increase to their budget."
After floor debate and a roll call, the speaker declared House bill 44 23 passed. The transcript shows the roll call and the speaker’s declaration but does not print a full numeric tally in the excerpt provided.
