Board of Health member resigns in wake of Fallin's Medicaid decision
BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Friday, December 07, 2012
12/07/12 at 6:06 PM
For more: Read Dr. Glenn Davis' resignation letter.
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A member of the state Board of Health has resigned in response to Gov. Mary Fallin's decision not to accept federal money to expand the state Medicaid program and state moves to discontinue funding to Planned Parenthood.
"I will not serve as a 'rubber stamp' for the status quo in this political environment," Dr. Glenn Davis, a Shawnee dentist, said in his resignation letter to Fallin. The letter was dated Nov. 28, nine days after Fallin announced she wouldn't accept federal Medicaid money under the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare."
The Governor's Office received the letter Monday.
"The present mindset of our state government is to require more with less," Davis said.
"Public health and public education are just too important for this approach," he wrote. "The lack of interest in expanding health insurance to our citizens is just another example. Our state has accepted 'Obamacare' funds through various departments while refusing to discuss the ramifications of the program.
"Federal taxes paid by Oklahomans will now help pay for the health care of citizens in other states," Davis wrote. "Discontinuation of the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program through Planned Parenthood is another symptom of this political view."
Davis has been a practicing dentist in Shawnee since 1978, according to the state Health Department's web site.
Davis' term on the board was scheduled to last until 2018, according to the web site.
Fallin announced Nov. 19 that she was rejecting the Medicaid money, which is authorized under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Fallin said accepting the money would put the state at risk of costs of up to $475 million between now and 2020, with escalating annual expenses in subsequent years.
Meanwhile, the president of the Oklahoma NAACP issued a statement Friday rebuking Fallin for her decision and urging her to change her mind.
"For the Oklahoma State Conference NAACP, this matter is not a game of politics to us," said Anthony R. Douglas, state president of the NAACP.
"Now that the Supreme Court has ruled and presidential election results are in, it is clear that the new health care law is here to stay. We should continue working to reform the law and make it better, but we have nothing to gain from blanket opposition.
These are human and civil rights issues, and we take it very seriously.
"I urge you to make the responsible choice for Oklahoma and allow our state to join the Medicaid expansion," Douglas said.
