Policy Analysis

During the 2024 session, the Oklahoma Legislature passed key mental health bills and appropriated over $5 million to provide much-needed support to the state’s behavioral health workforce.

Oklahoma will soon have an updated definition to determine when someone may be held in protective custody for a mental health evaluation to determine whether they need to be involuntarily hospitalized.

In this analysis, we explore how Oklahoma and other states can utilize strategies through Medicaid to address housing insecurity for Medicaid members with serious mental illness or substance use disorders.

In response to privacy and data collection concerns surrounding HB 3330, Healthy Minds collected and answered frequently asked questions about the bill and the changes it proposes.

A strategic investment in the state’s behavioral health workforce this legislative session would add more than 500 jobs and about $96.5 million to Oklahoma’s economy over the next 14 years.

Lawmakers have a unique opportunity to grow the state’s overstretched mental health workforce this legislative session, ensuring more Oklahomans can access the mental health and substance use treatment they need, when they need it.

One of Oklahoma’s recent milestones in advancing telemedicine was the state’s 2021 telehealth payment parity law, Senate Bill 674, which required insurance companies to cover telemedicine services at the same rate as in-person visits.

The Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board will distribute funding to counties, municipalities, and school districts to address the consequences of the opioid crisis in Oklahoma. This resource aims to help communities plan for the use of opioid settlement funds to effectively prevent and treat local problems created by the crisis.

New proposed federal rules would strengthen enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which would mean better access to care in Oklahoma and beyond.

With rising rates of mental distress among children and youth, schools play an increasingly pivotal role in addressing students’ mental health needs. However, only 15% of the state's 509 school districts are billing Medicaid for school-based services, despite available funding.