2011 Legislative Session Almost Here

It’s a whole new ballgame: the 53rd Oklahoma Legislature gets started in less than a week.  For CRNA’s, it’s back to work to ensure our ability to provide high-quality health care to Oklahomans, regardless their status or income level.  Unfortunately, not everyone agrees all Oklahomans deserve accessible, affordable high-quality care, and it’s up to all CRNA’s and our allies to beat back those who want to restrict the exceptional care we provide.

Both chambers of the legislature are still controlled by the Republicans, but there are complete overhauls in the leadership teams with new Pro Tem Brian Bingman and Speaker Kris Steele.  It’s important that each and every member of the OANA be familiar with the rapid deadlines that the house and senate follow as the session grinds along.  Here are the deadlines for the house, and here are the senate deadlines.

A formal one-day session takes place next Tuesday, January 4th, and both chambers will dismiss until February when the on-the-record work actually begins.

Do You Know These People?

We hope you do!  Both chambers of the legislature have new leadership.  As you all know, Republicans increased their margins in both the house and senate, but Sen. Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, and Rep. Kris Steele, R-Shawnee are the new bosses in their respective chambers.

Both have announced their leadership teams and committee chairs.  The senate announcement is here and the house of representatives info for each party is here for the Republicans and here for the Democrats.

We hope you’ll carefully study the new assignments as these new leaders have much to grapple with this upcoming session.  Not only do they have to balance a budget with a deficit right now that looks to be between $400 to perhaps as much as $650 million, they also will be the ones dealing with our issues, so please, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the committee and legislative leadership as soon as possible.

Study Debunks Slurs Against CRNAs

It’s always been the rule in politics that if one says something ridiculous often enough and with enough enthusiasm, that eventually people start to believe the silliness. As CRNA’s, we’ve heard enough non-sense to last a lifetime, usually from those who seek to build themselves up by tearing down CRNA’s. But yet another study this fall from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) proves that bureaucratic red tape is the biggest threat to expanding quality medical care in the United States.  It’s yet another study debunking old myths perpetrated by those who refuse to acknowledge the skill and training of CRNA’s.  Read the entire release from AANA here.

Runoffs Done: General Election Set

With the completion of the August 24th runoff election, the roster for the November election is set.  Here is the official list of candidates in all races; this is the July 25th primary election results and the results from the runoff.

The General Election is Tuesday, November 2nd. So two down, and only the Big One left to go!

Oklahoma Election 2010: A Critical Election for Oklahoma, and CRNA’s

 

The CRNA blog is your source for all information relating to the 2010 elections. Candidates for state, federal, legislative and judicial seats are all set. The primary election is coming July 27th. The last day to register to vote before the primary is Friday July 2nd. Many members of the class that will make up the 2011 legislature faced no challengers and will be seated after the November election. It’s critical that the new legislature knows more about our profession than their predecessors so that the half-truths and inaccuracies we battled so frequently in 2010 are no longer welcome at the State Capitol.  

We urge you to seek out those candidates in your area of the state and have a visit before the primary. There are still a lot of forces that would like to cripple our profession without regard to the ensuing harm they would do to Oklahoma patients. So it’s up to us to make sure that informed Oklahomans will be serving in the 2011 legislature. 

Right now the focus is on the July 27^th primary: for the next few days, we’ll be posting about the races that will command the voters’ attention come the 27th.  Take a look at those races, and if they are in your area, make sure you get involved.  Knowledge is power, and a little time spent before the election could just win us more and better friends in the 2011 legislature.

That Pesky Truth Keeps Getting Out

Sooner or later, despite the well-orchestrated spin and big-bucks PAC contributions thrown at leadership, the truth is getting out.

Here is a guest editorial carried last week by the Tulsa World featuring OANA political affairs chief Vic Long.

New news station KOCD, 103.7, which covers the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas, has been especially helpful.  They’ve highlighted the hypocrisy of our opponents.  You can listen to their morning show on the web at smoothjazzoklahoma.com every morning from 6 to 9 AM.

 Quite frankly, the rapid pace in which the public has begun to discover that SB1133 really is about punishing patients, especially in the rural areas, is amazing.  It was once said that a lie can race halfway around the world before the truth can lace up its shoes.  But in this case, the truth is catching up.  Stay tuned.

Winning the battle but losing the war.

The SB 1133 backers went into panic mode and got their flawed bill through last Thursday. Using scare tactics and out-and-out falsehoods, a bill designed to pay-back some shadowy entity prevailed. With their busy schedule, no doubt many backing SB 1133 had no idea the extent of this bill’s shortcomings. But the fact is, people have slowly begun to investigate the bill. The media is actually discovering that this is a horrible bill that looks more like something written by the folks in Washington than by Republicans in Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

Regardless, the media is slowly but surely discovering that SB 1133 is a hoax, and despite our loss last Thursday, a ray of light is shining in and this bill IS NOW exposed!

So there’s plenty of time to get the truth out and kill this before more Oklahoma patients become the victims of greed and hypocrisy.

Rep. Blackwell Reveal$ $B 1133 Hypocri$y

Why do they hate rural patients?

We don’t know that the majority voting last Thursday for the anti-patient, budget busting SB 1133 really want hurt rural patients. But we know that the issue is clearly a rural versus urban issue. IT IS at least partially about abusing rural patients, a fact clearly established in this article by Daily Oklahoman reporter Michael McNutt.

Those voting for SB 1133 may say that they don’t want to hurt rural patients and drive up costs, but it will if it becomes law.

SB 1133: Political Payback?

The bill known as SB 1133, as all CRNA’s know, just doesn’t make any sense.

We are very opposed to SB 1133. The bill harms rural patients and even its proponents are forced to admit it doesn’t solve a problem that doesn’t even exist.

The bill had been operating under the radar away from the prying eyes of the public. But that all changed when the OKPNS.com blog exposed the bill as a fraud with a post Tuesday afternoon.

Take a look at the story. Is SB 1133 a fraud and/or a poltical payback scheme? You be the judge.