Expansion Of Health Insurance Program Approved

Monday, May 21st 2007, 3:45 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An expansion of Governor Brad Henry's program to provide health care subsidies to small businesses was approved Monday by a legislative committee. The bill would change the standards for the "Insure Oklahoma" plan to allow more businesses to qualify. It would increase the number of workers a qualifying business can employ from 50 to 250 and the salaries those workers can earn from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 250%.

By last month, only 2,000 workers had signed up for the program, which has received $70 million in funding.

Shawnee Republican Kris Steele says the expansion of the program will be paid for by tobacco taxes sitting idle in a fund.