Officials say Medicaid changes have been lifesaving

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Officials say expanding the state's Medicaid eligibility in 1997 has been nothing short of lifesaving. <br><br>Officials say the number of poor children and pregnant women getting

Friday, April 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Officials say expanding the state's Medicaid eligibility in 1997 has been nothing short of lifesaving.

Officials say the number of poor children and pregnant women getting help from Medicare has increased 116 percent since eligibility was expanded three years ago.

There are 63,128 pregnant women and 208,000 children covered by Medicaid.

Under the changes, families can take advantage of the program if their income is 185 percent of the federal poverty level or less. For a family of three, that would be just over $26,000 a year.

Head of the state Health Care Authority, Mike Fogarty, says the federal government picks up 71 percent of the cost, with the state picking up the other 29 percent.