OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. (KOKH) — It’s set to be a huge shot in the arm for healthcare in rural and small-town Oklahoma.
Our state is awarded $223.5 million in federal grant money in the first batch of a 5-year $50 billion initiative called The Rural Health Transformation Program.
FOX 25 is tracking that money for you and asking ‘Who’s accountable?’ for how it’s spent, posing the question to leaders at the federal level and here in Oklahoma.
“It’s state bodies we are actually awarding the money to,” said Congressman Tom Cole. “So it’ll be Oklahomans making the decision.”
State Senator Paul Rossino said, “This money is going to be controlled by the health department and not the legislature, which is a little bit concerning for me.”
“If we don’t follow the guidance, and we don’t have metrics, and we are not improving health outcomes, they can claw the money back,” said Sen. Rossino. “So we have to make sure we’re doing this right.”
The hundreds of millions in federal funding come as dozens of clinics and hospitals across Oklahoma are at risk of closing, and amid a workforce crisis to keep them staffed.
“It’s not going to be able to be diverted and used for something else,” said Congressman Cole. “It’s going to go very specifically for healthcare and rural hospitals in particular.”
Our state doesn’t have the best track record for handling federal money, as shown in years of audits by State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd’s office.
“We need to make sure that the people who are administering these funds are knowledgeable about the federal compliance requirements that they are trained to properly oversee and monitor,” said Byrd.
A running theme in Oklahoma’s misspending, according to annual audits, lack of compliance and oversight, with Oklahoma issuing no-bid contracts, paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid claims to patients whose eligibility wasn’t verified, and misusing tens of millions of dollars in Covid relief money meant for education, child care, and rental assistance.
We were also recently flagged by the feds for having the highest rate of fraud involving SNAP funds.
It’s got us asking whether this time, with this money for rural healthcare, will be any different? Leaders at various levels of government tell FOX 25 they’ll be watching.
“Nobody wants to get embarrassed when you bring this kind of money into the state,” said Congressman Cole. “It needs to be well used.”
Auditor Byrd said, “This is just a time for Oklahoma to be taking care of the funds we’re receiving, because one day we’re not going to get them.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Health provided this statement on the status of the funding:
Oklahoma is fortunate to be funded an extra $23.5 million beyond the $200 million we were instructed to plan and budget for, requiring us to adjust and resubmit our budget to CMS for review/approval.
We recently received an updated notice of award for approximately $202 of the $223.5 million, and we are still coordinating closely with CMS on the review and release of the remaining $21 million.
Timely distribution of funding, in accordance with state procurement laws, is our top priority. As program details are finalized, funding opportunities and updates will be posted on the RHT Program website – Oklahoma.gov/health/RHTP.
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